Raptor 3: Periphery
by Chasyn
Summary: Zach's an adult now. He's graduated high school. He still can't fulfill his destiny of living with his Alpha mate on the island. He has to go to college! And his new roommate is pretty nosey. He kind of reminds Zach of his brother Gray. And then one night, he gets a little too drunk. And it pretty much ruins his life. (Owen/Zach. Part 3 of Raptor and official start of crossover.)
1. Plunge

**Disclaimer** : I own nothing. I wish I did. 8D I'd make them do naughty stuff that makes me giggle.

 **Warnings** : Gay characters, language, implied things later.

 **Notes** : Part 3, of my Raptor series. You should read part 1 and 2 before reading this. But here's a vague, brief summary: Wu turns Owen into a raptor. Owen now shifts into a raptor. He raises the girls like kids (they even call him dad a couple times). Enter Zach and Gray. Owen tries to fight it but feels an immediate attraction to Zach. Then Ida (the Indominous Rex) attacks. Charlie gets her tail blown off, but is still alive. All the raptors are still alive. Simon is still alive. Ida's half blind but escapes. Delta kills Dr. Wu. And Hoskins is nowhere to be found. At the end, Owen remains behind with the raptors to save the island. And Lowery stays behind to help Owen. Then in part 2, Ida has a next, Owen steals the nest, Ida attacks, nearly kills Owen. Echo figures out how to call Zach. Zach convinces Simon to take him to the Island. Simon takes Owen to a hospital (that is secretly the largest animal hospital but Owen doesn't find out until the end) and Owen's doctor is Tim Murphy. Zach stays on the island, raises the eggs. Owen gets better. Come back to the island. Then Zach leaves. Basically.

 **Pairings** : Owen/Zach, background Claire/Zara  
 **Summary** : Zach's an adult now. He's graduated high school. But he still can't fulfill his destiny of living with his Alpha mate on the island and raise their dinosaur babies together. He has to go to college! And his new roommate is pretty noisy. But maybe Zach likes him. He kind of reminds Zach of his brother Gray. And then one night, he gets a little too drunk. And it pretty much ruins his life.

 **Raptor  
** **Periphery  
** **Chapter 1: Plunge**

He let out a sigh as he stood up a beat behind his classmates around him. The robes looked stupid. The hats looked stupid. The tassels looked stupid. Everything looked stupid. A sea of stupid swarming around him and ushering him towards the rows of seats. Why did his parents even make him come? So, okay. _Big deal._ He graduated high school. With better grades than anyone ever thought possible. He did all his assignments, studied every spare moment, passed all his tests, and did all the extra credit that he could. He passed his senior year with A's in everything and that helped him bring up his total grade point average. But he didn't do it for them. Or even for himself, really. And still! He could celebrate just as easily at home. In his room. With his phone. And a certain raptor trainer.

He hadn't talked to Owen in nearly 3 days! And with everything going on, both on the island and with school and his parents, Zach hadn't been back to the island! And it was driving him crazy! His birthday had come and gone. He turned 18 and had gotten a part-time crappy job at a gas station for a few months, specifically to save up money to spend spring break on the island. But his parents had said no, he couldn't go. He considered going anyways, because he was legally an adult and could do whatever he wanted. But Owen talked him out of it, saying Zach needed to do the responsible thing and blah, blah, blah and sometimes Zach really hated Owen. He didn't, of course. But hated him for a second made Zach feel better about the situation. He'd glared at the man every time they video chatted for almost a month afterwards.

He sunk down in his seat as his classmates around him did the same. They were all facing a large stage and in the center there was a podium. Some woman who was vaguely familiar was standing there, leaning over the microphone. But Zach ignored her as he pulled his cell phone out. He sighed as he sent a quick text to Owen. _This is so boring!_ He typed, followed by, _What are you doing?_

 _Pay attention!_ Owen quickly texted back. _Or you'll miss your name being called._

Zach rolled his eyes. He didn't want to hear them call his name. _I'd rather listen to you call my name._

 _Zach! Pay attention!_

 _I don't want to!_

 _PAY ATTENTION!_ Was sent in all caps.

Zach glared down at Owen's text. _Why?_ He replied back.

 _Cuz they just called your name._

Zach jerked up. The kid beside him was gone, walking down the aisle. He blinked. He hadn't heard his name being called. He hadn't really heard any of the names being called. He hadn't realized they were at that part of the ceremony yet. He swore they just sat down and started. _What the fuck?_

"Zachary Mitchell, you awake, son?" The Principle was standing at the podium on stage, staring across the crowd at him.

Zach jumped up quickly and shoved his phone into the pocket of his robe. He turned and ran down the aisle to join the line of students filing up the steps to the stage. He tripped over himself and a wave of laughter erupted around him. Zach hung his head as he trudged across the stage. He felt his face flush and why not? That was just his lot in life. Now his face would be red in all his graduation pictures. And he had no doubt Gray caught the whole thing on video. He hardly glanced up as he approached the podium. The man smiled at him and shook Zach's hand. Words were shared about the Principle being impressed with Zach's efforts over the last year. Being proud. Blah, blah, blah. Why was everyone making such a big deal about it? Why were they all acting like it was a big surprise?

Zach returned to his seat as fast as he could and sunk down as the rest of the ceremony went on. His phone buzzed in his pocket. Zach sighed as he pulled it out.

 _You're cute when you stumble._

Zach stared at his phone for a moment. Then a smile slowly spread across his face as it finally sunk in. Owen was there. How was Owen there? _Where are you?_

 _Standing with your family._

Zach's eyes widened. He turned in his seat for the first time, his eyes searching the crowd. He honestly had no clue where his parents were sitting. There were too many people. He couldn't see anyone. He sighed and glanced at his phone. _Can't see._ He typed to Owen.

 _Pay attention. Put your phone away. I'll see you after._

 _You better!_ Zach sent and shoved his phone back into his robe pocket. His classmates were standing again. The ceremony was coming to a close. Zach quickly scrambled up. It wrapped up and suddenly, his classmates were running all over the school courtyard, hollering and laughing and throwing their hats around like Frisbees. Zach couldn't join in on the fun, though. His mind was suddenly wrapped up in the fact that Owen was with his parents. _Why_ was Owen with his parents? _How_ was he with his parents? Were they talking? What would they talk about? Would they somehow find out? Zach tried not to worry as he weaved through the crowd.

"Zach!"

He turned at his name and smiled at his waving brother. "Hey Gray."

Gray threw his arms around Zach and hugged him tightly for a moment. Then he stepped back and held up his phone with a wide smile. "I recorded the whole thing for you."

Zach rolled his eyes and pushed Gray lightly. "I hate you."

Gray only seemed to smile wider. "Mom says to make a copy for grandma."

Zach stepped around him and looked around. "I'm ignoring you now."

Gray grabbed his hand and shook his head. "We're over here." He said and started tugging him along.

The brothers weaved through the crowd. Zach followed closely and lowered his voice. "Gray." He hissed. "How's it... uh... going?"

Gray glanced over his shoulder and smiled slyly. "You'll see."

Zach sighed. "That's not exactly reassuring." He mumbled. But Zach's doubts were short lived when Gray stopped and he looked up. A chorus of congratulations and way to go's and clapping erupted from the small crowd suddenly gathered around him. Owen wasn't the only surprise guest standing with his parents. Claire, Zara, and Simon were there. All smiling. At him. Zach honestly had no clue which of them was a more surprising guest. Probably still Claire. He quickly ducked his head and turned to the side. He wasn't used to so much attention. It was weird. He'd never in his life gotten so much attention for something school related.

Simon was the first to step forward and give him a hug. "My boy!" He said, pulling away a bit but keeping his hands on Zach's shoulders. "I'm so proud of you! Graduating and getting into the college you wanted!" Simon hugged him again. Zach squirmed for a moment and Simon pulled away again. "Lowery sends his regards. We invited him but he said he was too busy to attend. He's sorry to have missed it."

Zach smiled and nodded his head. He actually wasn't surprised. He hadn't really talked to Lowery a lot since he left the island. He wasn't sure what he'd done, but he was certain he'd done something. He called a handful of times and Lowery kept ducking him. Too busy or getting ready to leave or another phone call. Or Lowery didn't answer at all. Zach left messages. Lowery returned them a couple times, but always at hours that Zach was at school. He felt like the guy was purposely trying to not look like he was ghosting Zach, while ghosting Zach. It kind of sucked, but he tried not to think about it too much.

Simon continued on talking. "One day, you still come work for me!" He said, squeezing Zach's shoulders. "If you still want to, when you are done."

Zach forced himself to look at the ground as he nodded his head. Because he really wanted to look at Owen and proclaim loudly how badly he wanted to do that. Instead, he nodded his head. "Yes, sir." His voice came out in a mumble. He cleared his throat and tried again. "Yes, sir." He said louder.

Claire rolled her eyes and crossed her arms. "You have no authority in who gets hired! I run the island!"

Simon tilted his head to the side. He dropped his arms and turned towards her. "I own the island."

Claire shook her head. "The island is owned by a trust."

Simon shrugged. "Maybe, if you want to get technical. A trust that I manage. So that still _technically_ makes me your boss."

Zara pushed between them both, shaking her head. She grabbed Zach's arm and looped her own through his. Then she turned him and steered him away from the bickering match. "Get the two of them talking about who's really in charge and we'll be here all day."

Gray fell in step on Zach's other side and let out a laugh. "Oh yeah. She's not exaggerating either." The younger brother said. "We all rode over together in Simon's limo. They wouldn't shut up the entire time!"

Zach glanced over his shoulder. Owen was right behind them. And behind him, were his parents. Owen smiled and winked at him. Zach smiled back and turned around.

Zara kept steering them away, towards the parking lot. She chatted idly as they went. About the island, wedding plans, the new PR program she's heading. "Social media." She said. "Is a wonderful thing. Right now, we're doing a contest. Winner will get to name the baby triceratops that just hatched."

Zach smiled. He already knew all of that. He was sure that she knew he did, as well. She was trying to distract him, trying to get the focus off of him. She was a new member of their growing weird family dynamic. But she'd quickly caught on to his aversion to being the center of attention. Because if he could have skipped this whole day, he would have.

They reached the parking lot and Zara pulled away from him and turned as his mom, Karen, stepped forward and started asking questions. Scott, his dad, hung back a bit. He crossed his arms but seemed in an okay mood. Both of his parents seemed to be behaving. The divorce was still going on. They'd finally sat the brothers down and talked about the divorce one on one with them. The brothers already knew. They'd been hearing things for well over a year. There'd been talk of one or the other of their parents moving out. But for now, they were keeping the house. At least until after Zach went off to college, they said. Scott had moved out of the bedroom and had been sleeping in the basement. Both parents actually seemed happier. Gray was certain Scott had a girlfriend. Zach wasn't sure about that. But Gray had overheard him talking on the phone a couple times. And once, caught a glimpse of a picture of a woman on Scott's phone. But the man had evaded the questioning kid and told him to drop it. But whatever. What mattered to Zach was that they seemed happier. And they were able to play nice at his stupid graduation. That he was suddenly _very_ happy to be at.

Zach edged closer to Owen. His parents were still talking to Zara, Scott having joined in finally. Gray was also yammering on with them. Zach wasn't even sure about what but none of them were paying attention to him or Owen. And Claire and Simon still hadn't caught up. Zach brushed his shoulder against Owen's and he breathed out. Finally, after almost 9 months of being apart, just being around Owen again was everything in the world and why the hell couldn't they just find a dark corner somewhere for a couple minutes?

Owen turned towards him and pulled him against him. He wrapped his arms around Zach tightly. "Proud of you." Owen whispered. Zach smiled and buried his head against Owen for a moment. But it was just a moment. Then Owen ended the hug and stepped back and punched him playfully in the arm.

"Zach!" A girl came running over, waving. "We found you!" She practically squealed. A boy followed a few steps after her.

Zach blinked at them. "Uh... hi!" He stepped over to meet them, waving his arms and trying to steer them away from Owen.

"Carly!" Karen smiled and stepped forward to hug her. "Congratulations! You, too, Seth!"

Zach sighed as he grabbed Carly's hand and pulled her back. "Mom!"

Gray slunk closer to Owen and stood on his tiptoes. "That's Carly." He whispered.

Owen leaned a bit closer to Gray to whisper back. "Who's Carly?"

"Oh, sweetie." Karen let out a laugh. "I wasn't going to embarrass you in front of your girlfriend."

Zach's eyes widened. "Mom!"

"Zach's girlfriend." Gray whispered to Owen.

Carly just smiled and stepped closer to Zach. She wrapped her arm around his and leaned her head against his shoulder.

Seth smiled and turned to Karen and Scott. "A group of us are going to hang out for a few hours. Drive around, probably get something to eat. Just goof off." He explained. "For the last time of our adolescent lives." He added in a dire voice.

Carly glanced at him sidewise and tilted her head. "Anyways... yes!" She exclaimed loudly and seemed to tighten her grip on Zach. "Can we kidnap him for a while?"

"For the last time." Seth whispered dramatically.

Karen smiled and nodded her head. "Sure."

"Mom! Don't we have... like... family stuff?" Zach tried.

She shook her head. "Everyone's staying in town tonight. You can see them all tomorrow."

"But..." He tried again.

Scott shook his head. "Go have fun with your friends." He said loudly. "You've earned it."

 _"For the last time!"_ Seth said again.

Carly frowned at him and shoved him away. "Stop saying it like that!" She snapped. "It's creepy!"

Seth let out a laugh as he grabbed Zach's other hand and the two friends started pulling Zach away. Zach's eyes flashed to Owen. Fuck his life! Seriously! This just wasn't fair! But he couldn't exactly dig his heels in and tell everyone why he didn't want to hang out with his friends and celebrate graduation. _Just fuck everything!_

Owen stepped back and grabbed Gray. He pulled the kid out of earshot and leaned down. "Girlfriend?"

Gray smiled and nodded. "Yup."

"He said he broke up with her." Owen said softly.

"He did." Gray nodded his head. "Mom and dad still think they're dating." He explained.

Owen straightened back up and crossed his arms. He wasn't sure how he felt about that. He breathed out slowly and shook his head. So much for getting to spend time with his mate and celebrating, even if it was while being surrounded by spying family. But, maybe, it was good Zach was spending time with his friends.

Gray smiled and poked Owen in the side.

Owen glanced down at him. "Did you just poke me?"

Gray nodded his head. "Yup."

Owen smiled. "Why did the dinosaur cross the road?"

Gray tilted his head, thinking. "Because the chicken wasn't around?"

Owen laughed. "Close. Because the chicken joke wasn't invented yet."

Simon and Claire finally realized they'd been abandoned and hurried towards the parking lot. Both seemed disappointed that Zach was gone. Zara snapped about them needing to stop fighting all the time. Then the whole lot filed into the limo and left.

 **-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-**

He was crammed in the back seat, sandwiched between Carly and Seth. They were in a giant van, belonging to the parents of whoever was driving. Zach wasn't even sure who it was. He hadn't been paying much attention. He was slouching as far down as he could, just wanting to disappear. There was music blaring and everyone was singing along. Loudly. And off-key. Any other time, he might have joined in and had fun with his friends. But Owen had surprised him by showing up! And Zach just wanted to be around him, even if he had to do it with his parents in the same room! He wouldn't complain. At least not out loud. They were in the same time zone and he was being pulled away again! It just wasn't _fucking fair!_

Carly stopped singing and turned towards him. She leaned closer and pinched him in the side. "Sourpuss."

He narrowed his eyes and glared at her. "You seriously just pinch me?"

"Yes!" She said, nodding her head. "And, I repeat, sourpuss! What's wrong with you?"

Zach glanced sideways at Seth, who was still singing loudly and leaning towards whoever was in the front seat. He looked back at Carly. "My friend came today." He said softly.

Her eyes widened. "The one you met on the island?"

Zach nodded his head slowly. "Yeah. I haven't seen... my friend in a few months. We talk and text and video." He breathed out. "But it's not the same."

"Hmm..." Carly tilted her head to the side. "I don't remember seeing... your friend there." She frowned slightly. "But... I guess I have no clue what your friend looks like so..." She shrugged slightly.

Zach smiled. "Yeah, you don't."

"I'm so sorry!" She sighed. "If I'd known, I would have just pulled Seth off without you."

Zach shook his head. "It's fine. Everyone's staying the night, I guess."

Her eyes widened slightly. "At your house? Awkward!"

Zach shook his head quickly. "I hope not!" Even if that meant Owen in his house. And sneaking Owen into his bedroom. "My aunt, her fiancé, and their boss showed up, too. From the island."

"Full house." She said.

Zach breathed out and nodded his head. "Yeah." His phone buzzed and he pulled it out.

New text from Owen. _Girlfriend?_

Zach smiled. _As far as my parents know. Perfect straight son._

 _She knows right?_

Zach rolled his eyes.

"What?" Carly asked as the car pulled to a stop. Everyone was suddenly getting out of the car and they followed. They were at a fast food place. Carly grabbed Zach's arm and pulled him back from the crowd. "Answer me!" She hissed.

Zach shrugged. "He was asking about you." He said. "Wanted to know if you knew we weren't dating anymore. Uh... you and me." He added awkwardly.

"I'll tell him." Then she darted forward, catching Zach by surprise when she grabbed his phone. She darted back out of reach and Zach actually tripped over himself. He flailed a bit from the ground and Carly stood over him for a moment, dangling the phone above him. She let out a giggle. "I'm just teasing you, Zach. You know I'd never do that, right?"

Zach breathed out in relief and nodded his head. He got his feet under him and stood up slowly. He brushed himself off.

And suddenly, the phone in Carly's hand started ringing. She let out a squeak in surprise, "Oh!" Her eyes widened and she looked at Zach. "Uh... I didn't mean to look... it says Owen... I'm sorry!"

Zach scrambled the rest of the way up and snatched the phone back from her. He pressed answer and put it to his ear. "Hi!" He said quickly, sounding a bit out of breath.

"Zach? You okay?"

"Yeah!" He said a bit too quickly. "I uh... tripped..."

There was a pause over the line. And then Owen burst out laughing. "Of course you did."

Zach pulled the phone away from his ear for a moment and glared at the phone. "Asshole is fucking laughing at me!"

"Well... you _did_ trip." Carly said, tilting her head to the side. "And you tripped earlier at the ceremony."

"Is that her?" Owen asked.

Zach put the phone back to his ear. "Yeah." He mumbled.

"Zach..." Owen let out a sigh.

"We're just friends!" Zach said quickly. "I swear!"

"Let me tell him!" Carly said, stepping forward.

Zach hesitated a moment. Then he pulled the phone away and hit speakerphone. "Okay, tell him."

"Hi, Owen!" Carly actually waved at the phone. Then quickly lowered her hand and blinked. "Uh... I waved at the phone. Oh my god. I'm such a dork!" She giggled and shook her head.

"A little." Owen said over the speakerphone. "Sorta cute, too."

Carly smiled widely. "Thanks! Uh... but yeah. We're not dating anymore. We broke up when he got back and said he had a boyfriend."

Zach rolled his eyes and shook his head. This was a mistake. He should have just ran for it the moment he got out of the van. He the track star. He was faster than all of them.

Carly smiled and stuck her tongue out at Zach. "But like... I'm not seeing anyone right now, not really interested. So I offered to pretend at school and with his parents. Because he wasn't ready to come out yet."

Zach sighed at that. "Understatement." He mumbled.

"But we are totally breaking up for real when we go off to college!" Carly said, pointing a finger at Zach. "Because I'm totally going to meet some awesome, not-gay college guys."

Zach held up his free hand and nodded. "Fair enough."

"So..." Owen strung out the word over speakerphone. "Carly, right?"

"Yes!" She said. "I'm Carly! Hi!"

Owen let out a laugh. "Hello, Carly."

"Zach didn't tell me your name." She added quickly, interrupting whatever Owen was going to say. "You called after I stole his phone and I looked at the display by accident."

Owen laughed again. "Yeah, anyways. Carly. You're really okay with this?"

Carly got quiet for a moment. She looked away and lifted her hand to her mouth to nibble on a nail. "I uh... I mean..." She stumbled over the words for a moment. Then she breathed out loudly and turned back to stare at the phone in Zach's hand. "I'm a little pissed. And a little hurt. I really liked him. But it's not his fault he's gay. Or his fault he met you. Fate or some stupid shit. But we were friends before I asked him out. So..." She sighed and shrugged her shoulders. "I kinda still wanna be friends. And friends help each other so..."

"Carly! Zach!"

Zach quickly took the phone off speakerphone and pressed it to his ear as Seth came walking towards them. "Hey uh..." He turned away and whispered into the phone. "I gotta go."

"Yeah, okay." Owen sounded disappointed.

"I'll text you." Zach shoved the phone in his pocket and the three of them headed inside.

 **-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-**

 **Author's Notes:** Hope you enjoyed the beginning to part 3! Also, I started writing a side story, revolving around Gray. You don't really have to read it, but it will be mentioned way later in this part. So... it's titled: Raptor Sides: Gold and Red and Gray?


	2. Place

I accidently made the first chapter longer and then chopped it in half. So have a new chapter 2. 8D

 **Raptor Heart  
** **Periphery  
** **Chapter 2: Place**

They ordered food and sat in a booth in the corner of the fast food joint. Zach picked at his food for a while with little interaction with the group. He was hardly paying them any attention. He was thinking about the raptors and the twins, wondering who was watching them if Owen was off island. And if they were listening to whoever it was. It had been just as long since he'd talked to any of them as with Owen. It was unusual. He'd been talking to at least the twins daily. He hardly missed a day since he'd been off island. That should have been his first clue something was up. Of course Owen had been conveniently too busy over the last couple days to talk. Because Zach would have guessed something was up.

The group continued to talk and laugh and at one point, Seth even jumped up on the table and started singing along to the song over the speakers. Zach smiled and laughed as he watched his friend. He rolled his eyes as Seth turned towards him and tried to pulled him up on the table. But he was saved by the manager who was suddenly there, angry and glaring. Seth quickly dropped back down to his seat with an apology and was quiet until they were ready to leave.

An hour later, and the group was at the mall. No real reason. But they ran into some other friends and someone suggested playing hide and seek. At the mall. Which was why he and Seth were sitting behind the mannequins in the front window display of the athletic supply store. The clerk at the counter had laughed when Seth told them they were playing hide and seek. And the man had said they should hide behind the trio of mannequins.

Zach pulled out his phone. He was bored. He'd officially been hanging out with his friends for nearly three hours. That had to qualify. Surely he could go home now. Oh god, please, let him go home! He sent a text to Owen. _Come save me._ He typed and sent.

 _Are you that bored?_ Owen's response took only seconds.

 _Yes!_ Zach typed. _It's been long enough. I need to see you._ He sighed as he stared at his words on the screen. Did that sound desperate? He was a bit desperate. But was it _too_ desperate? Or who was he kidding? He was completely and utterly desperate and he was feeling the urge to stab someone and Seth looked good.

 _Where are you?_

Zach texted him the address of the mall.

 _It'll take me 25 minutes to get there._ Owen answered. _Tell them you have to go. Big family dinner thing._

Zach smiled. _Hurry._ He typed. _Safely._ He added. He stood up and shoved his phones in his pocket. "Hey Seth."

Seth was very much into the game. He was laying on the floor, peering out from between the soccer mannequin's legs. His eyes were scanning the walkway for whichever team was it. At Zach's voice, he sat up. He reached over, grabbed Zach's hand, and pulled him down. "They're gonna see you!" He hissed.

"Sorry." Zach mumbled as he perched beside Seth, attempting to hide again. "But this is gonna be my last round. It's getting late and we got this family dinner thing. Parents just texted and reminded me. Ride'll be here in like 20."

"Shit." Seth shook his head. "That sucks, man."

Zach nodded his head. "Yeah."

Seth looked down at his phone as it chirped. "Yes! Carly's it!" He jumped up and fist punched the air. Then ducked back down.

Zach smiled. He pulled his phone back out and hit Carly's number.

Carly let out a groan as she answered. "We were hiding in the lingerie store and Brandon wouldn't stop giggling!" She whined.

Zach laughed loudly and shook his head. "Tell whoever brought their little brother, not to bring their little brother. Isn't he like 12?"

"No." Carly whispered, her voice heavy. "He's almost 17!"

"Huh..." Zach would have never guessed that. He had no clue who Brandon was the brother of. Or friend of. Or what. Zach wasn't even sure he knew who the kid was at all, if he'd ever really noticed him at school. "Uh... well... anyways. I gotta go. Big family dinner."

Carly let out a laugh. "Oh yeah. Dinner. Sure. Hey Brandon, I have to use the ladies room. I'll be right back."

"Awe! Come on! Can't ya hold it?" A voice whined in the background.

"Shut it!" Carly snapped. "I'm not listening to you whine anymore."

"You're hot when you're angry." Brandon said.

"Sit here and don't move! I mean it!" She sighed loudly. "I'm totally gonna smack him before this is over." She said in a hushed tone.

Zach laughed. "Sounds like he has a crush on you."

"Don't say that ever again!" Carly said in a serious voice.

Zach let out a laugh. "Anyways, just wanted to let you know."

"Yeah, yeah, yeah." She said. "Family dinner. Like I believe that."

Zach laughed. "Believe whatever you want. Can't stop you."

"Zach!" Seth hissed and grabbed at him again. "Shut up and stay down!"

"Sorry." Zach mumbled, ducking down again.

"Hey, so Owen?" Carly said softly. "He sounded old."

"Uh..." Zach slipped out of the display window and stepped out of Seth's earshot. "He's not old!"

"Well... _older_." She corrected. "Was he that hot muscly blond guy talking with your brother?"

Zach rolled his eyes. Why'd she have to notice him? Of course she did. "Yeah." He breathed out.

"Zach!" She exclaimed loudly and let out a giggle. "Oh my god! He's so hot!"

Zach sighed. "Carly!"

"I bet you two are so cute together!" She actually squealed that time.

Zach rubbed at his forehead. "Stop it!"

"Are you taller than him?" She asked.

"Maybe." Zach mumbled out. "Like... half an inch or something." He actually wasn't completely sure. It had been too many months since they stood next to each other. He didn't get a chance to check earlier.

"He a good kisser?" She continued.

Zach's eyes widened. "Carly!"

"He coming to get you?"

"Yes!" He snapped.

"Can I meet him?"

Zach paused for a moment. That had caught him completely off guard. _What?_ Why would she even ask that? He blinked. "Fuck no!" He finally answered.

"Why not?" She asked.

"Why do you want to?" He countered.

"Cuz he's the guy who stole my boyfriend." She said.

Zach rolled his eyes. "No."

"Oh come on!" She whined a bit.

"No."

"I just wanna say hi."

"No." He said again.

"He's hot."

Zach snorted. "Yeah, I know. But his hotness doesn't justify you meeting him."

Carly scoffed. "It totally does, too!"

Zach rolled his eyes. "No it doesn't."

"Just let me say hi!"

"You already said hi!"

She was silent for a moment. "That... doesn't count."

"In fact, I think you said hi twice. So nope. I'll talk to you later. Bye." He hung up the phone before she could respond. Then he shoved his phone in his pocket and walked back towards Seth. He said a quick bye to Seth, waved at the store clerk, and slipped out of the store. He spent the next 15 minutes actually hiding from Carly. He'd seen her heading his way as he walked down the walkway. He ducked into a store and hid until she walked past. Brandon was trailing behind her and she was clearly looking for Zach. But he evaded her and darted outside when Owen called.

The raptor alpha pulled up in a soccer mom looking minivan. The front window was open and Owen was leaning across the seat, smiling widely.

Zach stared at it for a moment before he opened the door and slipped in. "Seriously?" He pulled the door shut and shook his head.

Owen shrugged. "This is what your aunt rented." He said. "I think she wanted to like... drive everyone over together. And then Simon showed up in a limo."

Zach nodded idly as he glanced out the window. There was no sign of Carly. But that didn't mean anything. "Drive. Now." He hissed lowly.

Owen watched him curiously, the van still in park. "Why the rush?"

"Because Carly's probably lurking somewhere." Zach said, his eyes still on the mall doors. He pulled on the seatbelt. "She wants to say hi." He said gravely. Owen let out a laugh as he pulled the van into the line of mall traffic. He let Zach direct him away from the mall and out into road traffic. Then they pulled off into the parking lot of a big store. Zach pointed to a line of empty parking spots towards the back. "Pull in there."

Owen watched him sideways. But he nodded and put the van into park and turned it off. He leaned back. "Okay. Now what?"

Zach rolled his eyes as he unbuckled his belt. He leaned over the center console of the van and tried to fiddle with the settings on the driver's seat. "This thing go back anymore?" He asked with a frustrated sigh. Owen tilted his head to the side and smiled. He unbuckled his seatbelt and reached down. The seat slid back, moving impossibly far from the pedals and steering wheel. There was no way anyone would ever drive sitting that far back. But the second Owen's seat stopped moving, Zach was climbing over him. It was still a tight fit but he straddled Owen's waist and his back brushed against the steering wheel. Zach leaned forward a bit and laced his arms around Owen's neck loosely. "Hi." He said as he settled down.

Owen piqued an eyebrow as he moved his hands to Zach's waist. "Hi?" He repeated. "You made me drive a half mile from the mall in the opposite direction, park in the back of some random store parking lot, and climbed in my lap like a dog. And you say _hi_."

"Didn't want anyone I know to see." Zach answered, a slight shrug to his shoulders. "Or worse... Carly."

Owen laughed softly. "She seems nice."

Zach frowned and shook his head. "I don't want to talk about Carly."

"Fair." Owen said, nodding. "What do you want to talk about?"

Zach shook his head again. "I don't want to talk."

"Oh yeah?" Owen asked slowly. "What do you want to do?"

Zach narrowed his eyes and glared. "Stop talking."

Owen smiled and leaned back against the seat. "Make me."

Zach leaned forward and captured Owen's lips. He opened his mouth and his tongue slid against Owen's. It wasn't like their last chaste goodbye kiss. It was hard, fast, and messy. It was nine months of no physical contact. Nine months of both being too busy, of missed calls, forgotten texts, and falling asleep on each other over the line. Nine months of frustration and _hunger_. Of dreams and fantasies that left them both longing for more. Zach fisted his hands in Owen's hair and yanked, pulling Owen's head back. Zach's teeth grazed the man's neck. Owen trailed his hands under Zach's shirt, his fingertips barely grazing the skin they found there. Zach pulled away, slightly breathless and his lips red. He let out a giggle and ducked his head a bit.

Owen smiled as he tilted his head forward, his chin touching Zach's hair a bit. "Ticklish?"

Zach's blush darkened a little and he looked out the window, suddenly remembering they were in a car. "A little, I guess." He admitted softly.

Owen's fingers danced across Zach's skin again and Zach shivered and flinched again. "Good to know." Owen said with a laugh. Zach threaded his fingers in Owen's hair again and pulled hard, forcing Owen's head back again. Zach dipped his head forward. He touched his lips to Owen's neck. He ran his tongue up to Owen's ear and nibbled on the lobe a bit. Owen let out a rumble in his chest. Then he pulled his hands off Zach. He detached Zach's hands from his hair and held the younger man back. "You need to stop." He ground out, his jaw clenched.

Zach blinked for a moment, completely confused. Had he done something wrong? "Why?"

"Because you do." Owen answered, his voice dark.

Zach let out a frustrated sigh and he leaned back against the steering wheel. "I'm an adult now." He said, a slight whine in his voice.

Owen leaned back against the seat, his arms still stretched to keep Zach at bay. "No." He said loudly.

"I did all your conditions." Zach insisted, his voice dropping. "I broke up with Carly, I graduated high school, and I came back to the island!"

Owen shook his head. "Third one doesn't count."

Zach frowned. "Yeah, it does."

Owen shook his head again. "You being forced to come back so quick doesn't count."

"I wasn't forced." Zach said bluntly. "It was my idea. I begged Simon."

"No." Owen shook his head again. "You're supposed to want to come back. Later. After college. To live with me."

"No, no, no!" Zach shook his head and attempted to lift his arms but Owen still held them. "The conditions came before the college shit." He insisted. "You just said I had to like... take time and decide what I wanted with my life cuz blah, blah, blah. I'm a kid and I'm just starting or whatever fucking bullshit you said."

Owen rolled his eyes. "A couple months isn't long enough to make a life altering decision."

"I already decided." Zach insisted again. "You're it for me." He proclaimed. "You're all I want. _Forever."_

Owen smiled and finally released Zach. He reached up and slid his hand up Zach's neck. He pulled Zach down towards him until their foreheads touched. Owen closed his eyes and inhaled deeply. "You don't know what hearing that does to me." He said softly, his voice barely a whisper.

"Show me." Zach whispered back.

Owen breathed out and pulled away again. "Forever, Zach." He said, leaning back against the seat. "You said it. Some quickie in a rented van in a parking lot ain't gonna cut it."

Zach let out a frustrated groan. He rolled off Owen, rather ungracefully, and plopped back down in the passenger seat. He crossed his arms and leaned against the door. He was pouting, he knew he was. And again, ruining their probably last few moments alone together for who knows how long. Because Owen would go back to the island to do his job. And Zach would have to spend the summer getting ready to go to stupid college! Shopping and shit. And packing. And moving across the country. Into a dorm room. With a stupid roommate. And getting books and whatever else shit he needed for college. And that would last for a couple years. He sighed deeply and slouched down into the seat.

"Zach." Owen breathed out. "You seriously going to have a hissy fit every time something doesn't go your way?"

"I'm not having a fit." Zach mumbled, thunking his head against the door. "Just... frustrated." He breathed out and straightened up. He was having a hissy fit. He realized it. And it was not an adult way to handle things. "Fine." He said. "So you're saying... not now. But not... never, right?" He asked softly and for a moment, he feared the answer. Maybe Owen wasn't attracted to him in that way.

Owen reached down and adjusted the seat back in driving position. "Definitely not never." He breathed out. He leaned forward a bit and attempted to discreetly adjust himself in the seat. He leaned forward more and rested his arms against the steering wheel. "Being around you drives me crazy." He admitted softly. "But I'm not... rushing... or forcing... anything." He said stiffly. _"Ever."_

Zach smiled and breathed out. "Okay, okay. I get it."

"So subject change." Owen said quickly.

Zach let out a laugh. "To what?"

"Your parents..." Owen started.

"Oh yeah, that's a mood killer." Zach interrupted.

Owen smiled and continued. "They actually think you're still out with your friends. So you're probably good for a couple more hours."

Zach tilted his head and glanced over at him. "Where does everyone think you are?"

"Back at the hotel, sleeping." Owen answered. "Jet lag."

Zach pulled out his cell phone. "We're going on a date." He said as he starting scrolling.

"Okay." Owen said with a nod and leaned back in his seat. "Where?"

They didn't really have a lot of time. And it was the afternoon of a workday. And it was too late to plan anything. Plus there wasn't really anything do to. Other than the lame, normal date shit. "Movie and dinner." Zach said.

Owen nodded. "That'll work."

"The movie theater is back at the mall." Zach said, bringing up the website and checking movie times. He really wasn't even sure what was playing or what half of the movies where. He was just looking forward to sitting in a dark theater with Owen, where no one would see them together. "So we'll have to wait and try to sneak in. Less chance of Carly seeing us."

Owen laughed. "You think your friends are still there?"

Zach shrugged. "Probably. We just left. Hasn't been very long. So we're staying here until the closer to when the movie starts."

Owen glanced out the window at the store. "So we got some time to kill?" He asked and turned back to Zach.

Zach nodded his head. "Half hour at least."

Owen smiled. "So... since we're at a store... if I bought you like... new bed stuff... a new pillow and blanket... if you don't have any like emotional attachment to them... could I have your old stuff that you've been sleeping with? For a while?"

Zach glanced up from his phone. He tilted his head to the side and furrowed his eyebrows. "Why?" He asked slowly.

Owen turned his gaze out the window, avoiding looking at Zach. "Because they'll smell like you... and the bungalow doesn't smell like you anymore. The uh... twins miss it."

"The twins miss my scent." Zach repeated slowly, a smile stretching across his face.

"Yes." Owen answered.

"In the bungalow..."

Owen nodded again. "Yes."

"That they can't fit in anymore." Zach pointed out.

Owen shrugged. "Just telling you what they said."

"I'll say yes..." Zach started with a smile. "If you tell me who _really_ misses my scent."

Owen let out a sigh. "Fine. Me." He leaned back in the seat and crossed his arms. "Everything smelled like you when I got back. _Everything_. And I liked it. Felt like you were... sorta there with me. But then it started fading and it's completely gone and I can't sleep."

Zach's smile seemed to only get bigger. "You can't sleep because it doesn't smell like me anymore."

"Yes!" Owen snapped and then quickly breathed out. "I mean, the twins miss it, too. And the raptors. I'd give them the pillow or something. I'd share. But mostly, yeah. Me. I need it."

Zach nodded and opened the door. "Okay, come on."


	3. Prelude

Ugh! I have had the WORST couple of months. Really. Just awful. Emotionally and physically. And Nameless, girl, you have been my rock. I'm so thankful you've been around to listen to me whine and rant and to help me plot and just make me feel better about myself and my writing. You have just been amazing! And I love you! So much!

To the couple of readers who expressed upset over the crossover with the Avengers, this is for you. I've added to the outline and added in two extra chapters, as kind of a nice little end for you. You can stop reading after chapter 3. Chapter 4 will start the Avengers stuff. (Originally, chapter 2 was a time skip of like 4 months. XD With Zach starting college.) Also this is for OhYesShihDid. Who said they wanted to know if Carly interrupted the date. XD Again, was just gonna skip it.

So uh... yep. Enjoy! Sorry it took so long! But just UGH LIFE!

 **Raptor Heart  
** **Periphery  
** **Chapter 3: Prelude**

Owen stared up at the movie title, flashing in a marquee above the double doors of theater number five. This couldn't really be happening. Why was this really happening? How could this really be a thing? He blinked for a moment before glancing sideways at Zach. "Seriously?" Owen asked.

Zach didn't answer. He was grinning, ear to ear, as he simply shrugged and nodded his head. He'd asked Owen what movie he wanted to see while they were wandering around the store, picking out a few different blankets, pillows, pillowcases, and sheets. Owen had laughed and said he had no clue what movies where even out. Between his stint in the hospital, fighting giant dinosaurs, dealing with his long-distance teenage soulmate, parenting the raptors and indominous rex twins, and helping to rebuild the island... yeah. Owen's last year had been hectic. He couldn't actually remember the last time he'd been to a real movie theater. Or the last time he'd turned on the TV and paid attention to any commercials about upcoming movies.

In the end, Owen told Zach to pick whatever. Owen said he would enjoy just sitting next to him. Zach had rolled his eyes, like he was annoyed at having to pick. He wasn't, of course. And the spoken sentiment had made him smile. And blush. And then Zach had seen the most amazing thing ever on the theater website and tried to keep a straight face as they finished shopping and headed to the theater. Zach had kept his eyes peeled for Carly as he told Owen to wait outside the entrance. He wanted to surprise the raptor trainer. Owen smiled and nodded and when he tried to pull out his wallet, Zach declined and darted inside. He bought the tickets and poked his head out the door. The coast was still clear. He smiled at Owen, grabbed his hand, and pulled him inside.

And now, staring up at the marquee, Owen almost regretting letting Zach pick. Almost. Because he'd seen how excited Zach had been. And it was endearing. And sweet. And cute. Owen shook his head. "We are _not_ telling Echo."

Zach grabbed Owen's hand again and pushed the door open. "Yes we will." He said, pulling the older man through. "And we are buying it for her the moment it comes out."

"Fine." Owen breathed out.

"And more toys." Zach said, dropping his voice to a whisper as they navigated through the dark theater.

Owen shook his head. "Can we at least agree on not telling her we saw it first? Without her?"

"Deal." Zach said, nodding his head. "Come on, it's starting!" He whispered.

Owen glanced up at the screen and shook his head. "It's just the credits." He said as they walked down the aisle.

"Come on!" Zach hissed lowly, pulling harder on Owen.

"Why did they even make a sequel?" Owen whined slightly louder than he should in the theater. "What's the next one gonna be? _Finding Marlin_?"

"Shhh!" Zach hissed, pulling him down towards the front row.

But Owen just smiled and kept on talking. "Or that giant shark that says fish are friends, not food, who then almost eats them."

"Bruce." Zach said. "Don't pretend like you don't know his name."

" _Finding Bruce_." Owen nodded his head. "Yeah, that should be the next one. Or how about _Finding The Whole Damn Fuc_..."

Zach tugged harder on Owen's hand and pushed him down into one of the seats. "Kid's movie, O." He dropped down into the seat beside him.

"O?" Owen tilted his head to the side. "Like just the letter O?"

"Yep." Zach nodded.

Owen smiled and glanced around. "Well, Z, there's like five people in here, including you and me. I don't really think I'm disrupting anyone."

Zach glanced around as well. Then shrugged and leaned back in his chair. "I think this is the last day anyways." He said. "The lineup changes tomorrow."

Owen smiled. "Good thing we didn't miss it then."

Zach glanced sideways at him. He idly wondered if Owen really didn't want to see it. Or if the alpha was just giving him a hard time. Zach figured it was the latter. If he really didn't want to be there, Zach was sure he would have said so. "And Z doesn't work." He said.

Owen frowned as he turned to look at Zach. "Why not?"

"Because my name is already one syllable." Zach pointed out, leaning back in his seat. "You can't shorten it anymore."

"Seriously? You called me O because my name has two syllables?"

"Shhhh!" Zach said, touching his finger to his lips and then pointing at the screen. "Movie." It was actually starting.

Owen relaxed back in his seat, a smile on his face. He stretched his arm out and rested it against the back of Zach's chair. It was such a normal, date move. Zach leaned back against him. He reached up and pulled Owen's arm down around his neck and intertwined their fingers together. It was so normal. So mundane, ordinary, common. And they were seeing a kid's movie! But as the movie title floated across the screen, _Finding Dory_ , and they pressed closer together, similar thoughts passed through both of their minds. They loved the normality. Just as much as the oddity their relationship had brought thus far.

 **-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-**

The movie was cute. They laughed and smiled. They teared up a bit when baby Dory got lost. The crabby octopus called Hank, they both agreed, was totally Claire. Zach pointed at the energetic whale shark, Destiny, and said that was totally Simon. Owen had said Lowery. In the end, they agreed on both and laughed in the theater. Just as loudly as they wanted. And it was great.

Zach peered out the doors of the theater. The movie was over. Now they just had to make a run for it, get to the car without being seen. Then they should drive probably a half hour away to find somewhere to eat. That was his plan.

"What are you doing?" Owen asked, walking up behind Zach.

"Looking for Carly." He answered.

Owen paused for a moment. He waited for more, because that couldn't just be it. There had to be more than just Carly. But Zach didn't say anything more. He simply kept his eyes on the food court, right outside the door. "Seriously?" Owen prompted.

Zach didn't look away as he answered. "She's out there, lurking." His voice barely a whisper.

"Zach, she thinks you left." Owen pointed out. "A couple hours ago."

Zach shook his head. "She's too smart. She'll have figured it out."

Owen laughed. "How?"

"She just will!"

"Zach..."

"No!"

Owen smiled as he surged forward. He wrapped his arms around Zach's middle and lifted him straight up, off the floor. Zach let out a squeak in surprise. Owen turned and pushed the door open with his shoulder. He hauled his protesting boyfriend out into the food court and towards a table in the back. He dropped the flailing, young man on a chair, laughing all the while.

"Owen!" Zach hissed, slouching down and looking around.

"Come on." Owen dropped down in the seat across the small table. He lifted his hand and waved it around. "She's not still here. And if she is, this place is huge. She's like not... automatically gonna know you're right here, in the food court."

Zach rolled his eyes and leaned back. "She might." He mumbled out, looking away and pouting.

Owen smiled and grabbed Zach's hand. He hauled the younger man to his feet. "Food." Zach tried to argue against eating in the food court. But Owen won, stating that since Zach picked the activities, the movie, and paid for said movie tickets, Owen should get a say in where they were eating. "Next time," Owen started as they sat down with their trays. "Somewhere special. Someplace fancy, with reservations."

Zach shrugged . "I don't need fancy." He said softly. "This is special enough for me. Just need you."

"Really?"

Zach nodded as he looked up to meet Owen's eyes. "You're here." Owen smiled at that and they ate their simple burgers and fries in relative silence. For a while, anyways. Zach broke the silence before they finished. "So... I've been thinking about something." He started. He was leaning forward slightly, both his elbows on the table. He dipped a French fry in the smear of ketchup on his burger wrapper and then popped it into his mouth.

"About what?" Owen prompted after a moment, watching him. He lifted his drink to his lips.

"Our anniversary." Zach stated evenly. Owen inhaled the drink by accident. He sputtered and coughed for a moment. Zach eyed him with concern and leaned farther across the table. "You alright?"

Owen coughed and cleared his throat. He took a slow sip and set the cup back down. He nodded. "What?"

"Our anniversary." Zach repeated, settling back into his seat. "When exactly is it?"

"Uhhhhhhh..." Owen stammered a minute and strung out the word.

Zach continued. "Cuz we never like... had a moment... like..." It was hard to explain. Just like their relationship. "Asking each other out or like... being boyfriends or whatever."

Owen tilted his head slightly. "I guess not." He honestly hadn't really thought about it. He had just known. Zach was meant to be his. And he was Zach's. In some weird cosmic way, he felt like his whole life had been leading up to the moment he met Zach, to the moment he felt the kid in the air.

Zach continued on. "You said you sorta knew from the moment I stepped on the island..." He said, as if reading Owen's mind.

"No." Owen interrupted quickly, shaking his head. "We are not calling that our anniversary! You were 17!"

"Or our first kiss..." Zach mused.

"That was like two days later!" Owen shook his head again.

Zach smiled widely and leaned back in his chair. He crossed his arms and tilted his head. "Then there was the day you gave up resisting..."

"Out in the jungle?" Owen half snapped and half gasped.

"You were half naked." Zach said with a smile. "We had a moment then."

Owen narrowed his eyes. "After Ida killed the ACU team and the InGen guys." He shook his head. "No."

Zach could admit to that not being a good idea. "When I came back to the island..." He continued thinking. "Except you were half dead and hauled off like a minute later... or when you came back and we danced..."

Owen sighed. "As much as I loved that... no. Not any better than the others. Still 17. Like the song."

Zach dipped his head a bit and sighed. "We have to have an anniversary!"

"Then... uh... today?" Owen offered.

"Today." Zach repeated. "My graduation day?"

"And our first official date." Owen pointed out.

"I guess." Zach breathed out, not sounding too enthusiastic.

Owen frowned. "What?"

Zach breathed out again, rather dramatically. "It's just.. in a couple weeks... it'll have been a year since we met. And... I kinda liked that. I don't want to start over."

"We're not... _exactly_ starting over." Owen started. "But Zach, people always ask when two people who are dating met. Or how or when they started dating. And we're not saying when you were 17 and people died. It looks _really_ bad, on many levels."

Zach nodded his head. He understood. He really did. But still, he'd like the idea of their first anniversary coming up soon. It was a milestone. And he hated the idea of starting over. But he didn't voice any of it. He didn't say anything and several long minutes ticked by as he stared miserably at the table.

Or else it felt like several, as Owen watched his mate pout again. At this point, Owen feared an eternal frown on Zach's face. And he just wanted to do anything to make that frown disappear. Finally, he breathed out and shook his head. "We can have two." He said softly. "The day we met, that we'll tell no one about and celebrate privately. And today. Our first date." He said with a nod.

Zach perked up a bit, a smile spreading across his face, and leaned forward. "Really?"

Owen nodded again. "I was on my way back to the hotel because of jet lag I've already established and got lost and called you cuz you live here. And you were bored of your friends because you're this moody teenager who's always bored and pouting."

"I am not!" Zach snapped indignantly.

Owen ignored him and kept talking. "And I came to rescue you and we like... started talking and hung out and you kissed me and it became a date."

Zach leaned back and crossed his arms. "I kissed you?"

Owen shrugged. "Well... you did, first."

Zach smiled and tilted his head. "You kissed me back."

"Yep." Owen nodded again. "I did. Now, settled?"

Zach bit his lip, thinking. "I guess. Except no one gets lost anymore. Like every phone has GPS."

Owen shrugged. "Yeah, well, I'm old school and didn't think of that. I called the kid I know who lives here."

"Gray lives here." Zach pointed out.

Owen narrowed his eyes and reached for his drink again. "Quit poking holes in our origin story!"

Zach raised an eyebrow. "Origin story? Like superheros?"

Owen nodded his head as he took a sip. "Yep."

"Dork." Zach smiled.

"A dork that you're dating." Owen stated. "A dork that you practically _begged_ to date you."

Zach shrugged. "Maybe."

"Whatever." Owen smiled. "Satisfied?"

Zach nodded. "Yeah, it'll work."

"Good." Owen nodded. "But that brings up another point."

"Oh?"

Owen breathed out as he stood up. He gathered their trays and stacked their trash on top. "I was gonna wait and spring it on you." He said as he picked up the trays. "But since you sort of brought it up..." He turned and walked towards the trashcan a few feet away.

Zach blinked and watched him. He waited until Owen got back to the table and watched as he sat back down. But the raptor alpha was just sitting there, smiling. And not saying anything. And it was annoying Zach. "What?"

Owen's smile only seemed to widen. "I already talked with your parents. And Simon and Claire." He said and paused again.

"About what?" Zach prompted.

"Now, it's just four days." Owen said, still being cryptic. "And then back to planning college shit."

"What is?"

Owen shrugged slightly as he continued. "But it was the most I could get everyone to agree to, without looking too suspicious."

"Owen!" Zach snapped out his name. He was getting a little annoyed. Just a little.

"You're coming to the island." He answered with a smile. "You'll actually arrive the same day as the first time."

A smile slowly spread across Zach's face as the words sank in. He was going back to the island! He was going home! And that was the first thought that popped into his head. Home. _Home!_ "Really?"

Owen nodded.

Zach could barely contain his excitement. "I get to go home and see the girls and the twins!"

Owen nodded again. "The girls are pretty excited. And the twins..." He shook his head and breathed out.

Zach's eyes widened. "What?"

"Oh, no." Owen shook his head and held up his hands. "They're fine!" He added quickly. "Just... you know... they're getting so big!"

Zach let out a laugh and nodded. "Yeah, I know. I talk to them just about every day. And I've been following Zara's PR campaign since it started." Zara had been promoted, so to speak, to head of the public relations department. Posting videos and pictures and setting up live feeds of some of the babies dinosaurs as they hatched and grew over the last year. Her biggest challenge had been the twins. But Zach had helped, giving her access to all the videos and pictures he'd taken in the short time he'd been with the twins. And then recording some video calls he'd made with them since then. He'd taken to making scheduled weekly calls to the twins that were aired on the website.

Owen shook his head again. "But it's different." He said. "Video calling vs. being in the same enclosure with them."

Zach frowned for a moment. "Don't tell me you've changed your mind about them!" He snapped angrily. "After everything over the last few months..."

"No!" Owen's eyes widened and he interrupted Zach quickly, waving his hands. "That's not what I mean at all!" He assured Zach. "I never once doubted the twins." He said earnestly. "Since the moment we found the nest. Actually, since the moment I realized Ida was too far gone. I wanted to give her a chance, she deserved a chance, where she wasn't isolated and mistreated."

Zach crossed his arms and leaned back as he listened to Owen talk. He tilted his head a bit curiously. "Never once?" He repeated.

Owen leaned back and ran a hand through his hair. He scratched at the back of his neck and sighed. "Okay. Once. When I woke up and found out you were on the island. Alone. Yes, I had doubts. But that was more about your safety." He added. "Ida nearly killed you. And I remembered that fear, when we realized you and Gray were missing. And then the gyro ball being smashed and tracking you..." He breathed and rubbed at his face. He didn't mean to hash any of this up. Finally alone with Zach, where they didn't have to watch over their shoulders, and he was ruining it.

Zach leaned forward on the table. "Are they showing any signs of aggression?"

Owen shook his head. "No, not once. I mean, there was the time Indigo managed to climb out of their first paddock. She chased that jeep pretty far before we got her to stop."

 _"Chased."_ Zach emphasized. "She told you she thought it was a toy."

Owen shook his head. "She was bigger than the jeep."

Zach shrugged and waved it off. "The guy didn't get hurt and I told her no chasing cars outside of her paddock. And no more trying to climb out."

"Exactly." Owen breathed out. "They only listen to you!"

Zach opened his mouth slowly. "They uh... they listen to you." He said weakly.

Owen shook his head. "The time Minnie climbed in that tree a month after you left. She wouldn't come down until I got you on the phone."

Zach rolled his eyes. "That was months ago!"

"Yeah." Owen nodded. "They're bigger now."

"I know!" Zach snapped.

"I've spent months trying to train them." Owen continued on. "The raptors have even tried helping. But we're still hardly getting through. Just when I think we're made some progress..." He sighed and shook his head. He leaned forward on the table. "They've imprinted on you." Owen said softly. "And they've decided to only listen to you."

Zach dropped his gaze to the table top. His shoulders drooped and he sighed softly. "I can try harder to convince them to behave." He said softly. "They're still babies."

Owen nodded his head. "Exactly. They are." He said. "They're growing fast physically, but not mentally, I don't think. Just proves what I always thought about Ida."

Zach sighed and nodded. "Yeah, okay." He leaned heavily on the table and looked at Owen. "So what do we do? I thought Zara's campaign was going well? I thought the twins had fans and supporters. Are they in any danger? Is there something you haven't told me?"

Owen shook his head. "No, no, no. I wouldn't let anything happen to them. Simon wouldn't either." He added.

Zach breathed out. "Okay. Good. So... what... I come home with you for a couple days and what... we try to work with them together?"

Owen tilted his head slightly. "Pretty much. That was the big bargaining chip to get everyone on board."

Zach frowned for a moment and his forehead wrinkled. "What?"

Owen smiled and leaned back. "Getting you on the island to work with them, one on one, with me. There's some special investors coming to check out the twins. And they really only listen to you so..."

Zach rolled his eyes, feigning annoyance. He pushed off the tabletop and leaned back in the chair. "So that's the real issue here? I'm there to play nice with some stuffy old rich guys." He wasn't really annoyed. He'd take any chance to go home and see his dino kids, even if it was only for a few days. Hell, even a few minutes with them would be worth whatever he had to do.

Owen shook his head. He knew Zach well enough to see right through him. "No, that's not it. But... let's be honest here. That's half the job. Playing nice with rich people to help fund the island. Better get used to it. Plus, you're gonna need money. Unless you expect mommy and daddy to still send you allowance while you're off at college, being an adult."

Zach tilted his head to the side. "They're gonna pay me?"

Owen nodded.

"Right now?" He asked.

Owen nodded again.

Zach's mouth dropped open. "Then why the fuck am I going to college?"

Owen laughed and shrugged. "Keep your parents happy? Life experience? Because you're supposed to?"

Zach groaned out loudly and leaned back in his chair. "Fuck all of that!"

Owen shrugged again. "Just play nice. I'm trying to make this a thing. For all the reasons we already discussed."

"A thing?" Zach repeated.

"Any break you get." Owen said. "Thanksgiving, Christmas, Spring Break, Summer, random three day weekends around the Monday holidays."

Zach blinked at him for a moment as it sank in. "You're trying to get me back on the island." He said.

Owen nodded quickly. "As much as possible. To help me with the twins, of course. But also cuz... you know, I want you there."

Zach smiled as the sentiment settled in, seemingly into his soul. The words actually warmed him. He leaned across the small table. "Come here." Owen smiled and when he leaned a bit closer, Zach reached over and grabbed him by the collar of his shirt. He pulled the alpha closer and stopped just before their lips touched. "I love you." He breathed against Owen's lips before pressing against them. It was the first time the words had been uttered between them. And it was the first time Zach had said those words to another person. Never in his life had he felt anything close to what he felt for Owen.

"Zach!"

Zach pulled away quickly, pushing Owen back roughly. He knew it. He fucking _knew_ it! "I told you!" He hissed before jumping up. He held up his arms and stepped towards her, trying to block her from getting closer to the table. But she was fast and ducked around him. Zach quickly turned and grabbed her hand. "No!" He snapped. "Carly, _no!"_

But the young woman twisted out of his grasp and bounced over to the table. She smiled and waved wildly. "Hi, Owen!"

Owen smiled back at her. He stood up and stepped closer to her, his hand stretched out.

Zach let out a groan as he let go of her. _So this is happening_ , he thought. Why? Why was this his life? Why did she have to be so stubborn?

Carly swept closer and held her hand out, fully prepared to shake Owen's hand. But the older man surprised his two juniors when he took her hand in his and lifted it. He bent forward and pressed a kiss to the back of her hand. "It's a pleasure to meet you, miss Carly." Owen said, smiling up at her. He straightened up and released her hand.

"Oh my..." A blush spread across her face. "Uh... the uh... pleasure is all mine..." She stumbled slightly over the words. Then she lifted her hand to her chest and breathed out.

Zach rolled his eyes. "Seriously?"

"Hey!" Carly snapped, looking over at him and narrowing her eyes. "He's being a gentleman!"

Zach crossed his arms and glared at her. "Ain't seen him do it before." He mumbled out.

"Oh..." She smiled slyly and tilted her head to the side. "Jealous, are we?"

Owen stepped closer. He reached out and pried Zach's arms apart. He grabbed Zach's hand and lifted it to his lips as he had done to Carly's. He kept his eyes on Zach's as he did so. And he watched as the younger man bit his lip. Owen smiled as his lips hovered above Zach's skin. "It has been a real pleasure meeting you and knowing you over the last year." He kept hold of Zach's hand as he straightened up. Then lifted it and placed it over his heart.

Zach's breath hitched for a moment and he sucked in a breath. And then he swooned against Owen. He actually swooned, in the middle of the crowded food court. At the mall. With Carly giggling two feet away from him. Owen wrapped his arms around Zach's waist, catching him before he fell. Zach rested his head against Owen's shoulder for a moment. Then he snapped out of it. He practically jumped back a few steps. He cleared his throat and ran a hand through his hair. Owen smiled widely at him and Zach held out his hand and pointed at him. "Don't say a fucking thing."

Owen held up his hands. "Wasn't going to."

Carly held up her hand. "Can I?"

"No!" Zach snapped. "Why are you even still here?"

Carly threw her head back and let out an exaggerated sigh. "That Brandon kid was hanging all _over_ me!" She snapped. "He kept asking me out! I really didn't want to ride home in the same car as them."

Zach frowned. "Seth ditched you?"

Carly shook her head. "No, I lied and said my sister was coming to get me."

"Is she?" Owen asked.

Carly shrugged. "I left her a message. But... so far, she hasn't answered."

"How long has it been?" Zach asked.

Carly pulled out her phone and drug her fingers across it. "Almost an hour."

"An hour?" Owen asked. "What have you been doing?"

She shrugged. "Wandering around." She answered.

Zach rolled his eyes and shook his head. "That was better than riding in the van with Brandon?"

Carly nodded her head. "I would _sleep_ here if it helped avoid him."

Owen let out a laugh. Then he threw his arm around her and pulled her close. "We'll take you home."

"What?" Zach exclaimed.

"Come on, Zach. Can't abandon your friend."

"But..."

Owen reached out and grabbed Zach. He wrapped his other arm around the younger man and steered them both towards the exit doors. "Don't be an ass."

Zach breathed out. "Sorry, Carly."


	4. Performance

Oh look! It's been a month! Ugh! I don't remember if I've whined about my carpal tunnel on here yet? I know the Discord peeps have heard me whine about it over the past couple months. But yeah, carpal tunnel is a bitch. But here ya go. I had fun with this chapter.

 **Raptor Heart  
** **Periphery  
** **Chapter 4: Performance**

He took a deep breath and closed his eyes. One last, quick show. Then he'd hightail it out of there and wait at the docks for his mate's return to the island. Because it had been _way_ too long since Zach had been there and Owen felt the need to remedy that. As soon as possible. He needed Zach on the island. Even if it were only for a few days. He really needed him there longer. But he would settle for the couple of days. _For now._

He pinched the bridge of his nose. He couldn't believe he was about to do this. He was so going to get yelled at if _she_ found out. But he wasn't one to chicken out or back down. And a bet was a bet. And he'd lost it. He was totally going to kill Barry when this was all over, for even suggesting it. He was going to make his best friend regret coming back to the island last month. Owen sucked in another deep breath and slipped his headset on. "We good?" He asked into the microphone.

There was a laugh over the line. "Oh yes." Barry said, way too excited for what was about to happen. "I have the track all cued up."

Owen rolled his eyes. "Great." He mumbled.

"You can still back out." Barry offered. "I gave you a second option."

"I am not telling you his name!" Owen snapped lowly. And Barry just laughed again. Owen ignored him as he walked over to his terminal and checked the cameras. The raptor paddock had been rebuilt. It was larger and the walls extended out to Owen's bungalow. He'd designed it himself and did most of the work. The gates to the bungalow were closed during the day. But at night, he opened them and the girls went home with him. The twins, too, though he suspected that wouldn't last much longer. They were getting too big to let into the raptor paddock. But they would cross that line when they got there. For now, Owen's attention was on his next show.

There was a stage and behind thick plexiglas were rows of raised seats. Drop down screens hung from the ceiling and it was like his own mini amphitheater. Sometimes he'd bring the girls up on stage with him and do tricks. Sometimes he'd strap cameras similar to the ones Hoskins designed on them and let them hunt. Sometimes he went with them on his motorcycle. Other times, he'd do shows just about their natural behaviors. He had cameras all through their little part of the jungle, always recording movement. Sometimes he'd share some of their odd quirks. Echo's obsession with Nemo, Delta's love of tricks, Charlie's robotic tail, and Blue's ability to lead her sisters and practically run her own show. None of those would be today's show, though.

"Ready when you are, boss." Barry's voice rang in his ears flippantly. "Unless you changed your mind and give up."

Owen lifted his hand and flipped off the air. He knew Barry would be able to see him. He just wanted to get this over with. So he could go wait at the docks. For his mate. The next four days were going to be busy! He had so much work shit planned for Zach to do. So he needed any excuse to spend as much time with the young man as possible. But later. Because now, he had a show to do. So no. He wasn't backing down. "Play the track." He said. "Softly. Increase when Echo comes out."

"Got it, boss." Barry said.

"And don't tell me how you got an instrumental track of that song so quickly."

"Karaoke." He answered.

Owen frowned, imagining his friend singing karaoke to that song. He shivered and shook his head. "I said _don't_ tell me. Echo, you ready?" There was a loud, answering squeal in his headset and Owen cringed slightly. "Volume, Echo." He shook his head. "Couldn't convince any of the others, huh?"

 _[No fun.]_ She answered, this time softer, over the line. _[Say dumb.]_

Owen let out a laugh as he headed across the enclosure. "Yeah, I totally agree with them." He jogged up on the stage as a chorus of cheers and applause rang out. He smiled and clapped his hands together. "Ladies and gentlemen, boys and girls, welcome to the Raptor Paddock. For those of you who do not know me, I am the pack alpha, Owen Grady. What we have for you today is a little different." The music started streaming in and Owen ran over the lyrics in his head. "See..." Owen started, walking across the stage. "I lost a bet. So Echo and I are gonna do a little dance for you. Echo! Get out here!"

Echo let out a squeal as she raced across the enclosure and leapt up on stage. She slid a bit, stumbled, and rolled the rest of the way to Owen's side. The crowd erupted in laughter and cameras flashed. Echo let out another squeal as she flopped around for a moment and looked up at Owen. _[Dad!]_

Owen let out a laugh and crossed his arms. "Graceful entrance there, kiddo."

Echo let out a snort again and finally jumped up. She bounced and shook herself. _[Dance! Dance dance!]_

The music, if it could even really be called music, grew louder. The beat thudded out of the speakers. Owen smiled as he lifted his hands and started. "I like big butts and I cannot lie." He shouted. "You other brothers can't deny."

Echo bounced a bit and let out a squeal. Then she twisted around and started wiggling her tail.

Owen smiled. "That when a girl walks in with an itty bitty waist, and a round thing in your face, you... uh..." He wondered if Barry actually thought this through. Probably not. Owen continued, deciding to just skip most of it. "So fellas, yeah, fellas, yeah, has your girlfriend got the butt?"

A few people in the crowd had gotten into it and yelled back, "Hell yeah!"

Owen laughed. "Tell them to shake it, shake it, shake that healthy butt!" And that's exactly what Echo did. The crowd erupted in laughs and applause and camera flashes. Owen shook his head and held up his hands. "Hold up. Barry." He touched his hand to his headset. "This really isn't very appropriate. You got something else we can dance to?"

Barry laughed in his ears. "Yeah, I do."

Owen rolled his eyes and glanced sideways at Echo. "Uncle Barry said yes, he's got another song for us. More appropriate, right?"

"Yes." Barry answered.

A new song started and Owen rolled his eyes again. "Seriously?" He said into the microphone. "I'm going to kill you, you know?"

Barry laughed. "You should have never gotten drunk and preformed the entire song perfectly."

Owen put one hand on his hip and lifted his other hand to wave it in the air. It had been a few years ago, but yes. He had danced to the song at Barry's birthday party. He'd been very drunk and hardly remembered it. But it had been recorded and shown to him, and to everyone else on their Seals team at the time, the next day. "All the single ladies, now put your hands up." He sang out.

Echo let out a loud squeal and lifted her arm up.

"Up in the club, just broke up." Owen swiveled his hips. "I'm doing my own little thing." He kicked out his leg and turned to the side. Echo tried to mimic him beside him. "You decided to dip and now you wanna trip, 'cause another brother noticed me." He dipped forward and snapped back up. He was so totally going to kill Barry if he threw his back out. The movements were a bit jarring. He definitely couldn't move like Beyoncé, and he swore it was easier last time he did it. When he was drunk.

But the crowd was getting into it, singing along and cheering. A few were even in the isles, dancing along. And he was having fun. "Cause if you liked it, then you should have put a ring on it. If you liked it, then you should have put a ring on it. Don't be mad once you see that he want it, if you liked it, then you should have put a ring on it. Oh, oh, oh..."

 **-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-**

Zach smiled as he leaned over the rail as the island came into view. He was reminded of Gray doing the same thing, exactly a year ago that day. And Zach had snapped at him, in anger. Not because he was actually worried about Gray's safety. He was angry at Gray for being too excited and embarrassing him, in front of some random cute guy. And he'd been so stupid! He was such a moody teenager, angry at the world. For no reason. He'd been such a cliché. It was hard to imagine how much had changed in his life over the course of a year. A year! Was that all it had been?

The ferry drew closer to the island and Zach sucked in a breath. This was his life, his future. This island. And said island was getting bigger on the horizon. He smiled again as he leaned on the railing. He watched the waves in the water until they started to slow. The ferry docked and people started walking down the ramp. Zach stepped onto the docks and immediately started looking around. Owen said he'd meet him there. Zach pulled out his phone and glanced at the time. He was actually early. The ferry had made good time. Owen should still be in the middle of a show. Zach couldn't call him. He scratched at the back of his neck for a moment, thinking. He could just get himself checked in first. He was supposed to be staying at the hotel. He highly doubted he'd be spending any time there. But had to keep up appearances or whatever.

"Gray's brother!"

Zach turned at the voice and smiled. He wasn't expecting to see the man there, but he wasn't exactly disappointed. While he'd rather Owen have been there, he still liked Simon. "Mr. Masrani!"

Simon stepped closer, a smile on his face. "Simon." The man corrected. "You arrived early."

Zach nodded and shrugged a bit. "Yeah, I guess. How did you know?"

"Lowery was watching the ferry arrive." Simon explained. "He said it was nearly a half hour ahead of schedule."

Zach nodded his head slowly. "Owen's still busy?" He tried to hide the disappointment in his voice.

Simon nodded. "Yes. So I thought this would give us a chance to catch up, my boy!"

Zach smiled and laughed at his enthusiasm. He nodded his head again. "Sure."

Simon clapped his hands together. "We'll get you checked into the hotel and then I will give you a proper tour of control."

"I've been up there several times." Zach pointed out.

Simon nodded. "But your aunt is there now and... it was a demand." He hooked his arm around Zach. "Now let's get going! We don't want to keep her waiting!" He leaned closer and dropped his voice to a whisper. "She kind of scares me."

Zach let out a laugh and they started across the docks. They hurried through getting Zach checked in and dropping his stuff off in his hotel room. Then they were on their way to control. Zach was so excited to be back. He was trying so hard not to skip or run or trip or seem too eager. Which he totally was. He was going to be seeing his girls, today. All of them. And just as soon as he could convince Owen into sneaking off, he was going to be going home, to the bungalow. Even if it were only for a few minutes. And he couldn't wait to take advantage of those few minutes.

"Zach!" Claire threw her arms around him and hugged him tightly the moment they stepped into control. Zach smiled and hugged her back. "How was your trip?" She asked, stepping back.

"Good." He answered with a shrug. "Just... fast, I guess."

Claire linked her arm in his and pulled him back a few steps. "You nervous?" She asked softly, dropping her voice to barely a whisper.

Zach thought about her question for a moment. He wasn't nervous about being back on the island itself. He wasn't nervous about seeing the raptors or twins again. Or Owen, for that matter. But he'd be lying if he said he wasn't nervous for what everyone thought he was there for. For attempting to train the twins well enough in a few days to show them off to investors or whoever. He had no clue where to even start. Or if it were even possible. He'd been talking to them more over the video phone in the last couple weeks, since Owen first told him. But really... he wasn't sure how well it was going to go. And this was basically a test drive for the rest of his life. He didn't want to mess it up. And embarrass himself. And disappoint Simon. And let Claire and Owen down. He messed this up and he'd never get hired on the island, he was sure. And his life would be ruined.

Zach paused. He was being dramatic. He fought the urge to roll his eyes at himself as Claire waited for an answer. Even if he did horribly and failed, no one could stop him from moving to the island and living with Owen. With no job. Just sitting about the bungalow. Waiting for Owen to get home. Being bored out of his mind. Yeah, dramatic. He knew this. Yes, this was a test run. But it was also pretty last minute. They wouldn't really hold this over him, he was sure. He breathed out and nodded. "A bit." He admitted.

Claire smiled and squeezed his arm affectionately. "You'll do great." She said softly. "Just try your hardest, do your best, and project confidence." She said with a nod. "Even if you don't feel it. You've already impressed Owen and Simon. And me." She added with a smile. "I'm so proud of you, Zach."

Zach was rendered speechless by her sincerity. He swallowed the lump forming in his throat and dropped his gaze to the floor. Before he could say anything, though, Simon was there again, grabbing his arm and whisking him around the room. They said hi to practically everyone in the room. People Zach hadn't met and names he'd never remembered. Simon didn't even know most of their names. Those he forgot or messed up introduced themselves. Until just Lowery was left.

Simon smiled between them. "You know Lows, right?"

Lowery glanced at Simon. He tilted his head at the use of nickname but didn't say anything about it. "Uh... yeah. When he was taking care of the raptors." He said. "We uh... hung out a bit... then..." He glanced at Zach and waved at him with an awkward smile. "Welcome back." He said stiffly.

Simon nodded and opened his mouth to say more. But his phone rang and he excused himself to answer it.

Zach watched him for a moment before turning to Lowery, who wasn't looking at him. Zach breathed out and bit his lip. The awkward silence seemed to stretch on forever and he had no clue what to say. His eyes strayed to the part map, displayed up on the screen. He settled on the raptor paddock and cleared his throat. "So... uh.. have you... checked in on Owen's show? Is he done yet?"

Lowery glanced back up at him. He was quiet for a moment as he stared blankly at Zach. Then he glanced around quickly, making sure no one was paying any attention to them. No one was, of course. They all had jobs to do. Lowery leaned closer and dropped his voice. "Exactly how old are you?"

Zach's eyes widened. "I... uh... 18." He stuttered a bit over the answer.

" _Exact_." Lowery stressed.

"7 months." He whispered, dropping his gaze to the floor. He wondered just exactly how much Lowery knew and how he found out. Zach doubted Owen told the man, at least not on purpose. Had it been an accident? Was that why Lowery had been ghosting him the last several months?

"A year ago?" Lowery pressed.

Zach swallowed and nodded his head, glad Lowery didn't voice the rest of the question. Lowery leaned back in his seat and crossed his arms. Zach squirmed a bit under the scrutiny. But the man didn't say anything.

Luckily, Simon returned a moment later. "Sorry for the disruption, boys. You two catch up?" Both nodded their heads and Simon smiled. He reached over to pat Lowery on the shoulder. "Good, good." He said and turned to Zach. "You ready to go?"

Zach cleared his throat and shook himself. "Uh... go?"

"To see your twins." Simon said.

Zach nodded quickly. "Yes!" He said, still nodding his head. He was equal parts excited to see them and just wanted to get away from Lowery before the man questioned him more.

Simon laughed again. "Let's go! Claire!"

She stopped whatever she'd been doing and turned towards them. "Yes?"

"We're going to see the twins." Simon announced loudly.

Claire nodded. "I'll go with you."

"Wonderful!" Simon clapped his hands together. "We can stop by Rexy first."

Claire stepped closer to them and frowned for a moment. "The T-Rex?"

Simon nodded. "Zach mentioned he wanted to visit her and she is the closest."

Claire's lips pulled tightly for a moment and she nodded stiffly. "Yes. Of course." She still wasn't completely okay with Zach's involvement last year with the giant carnivore. But she couldn't change it now and she was learning to accept it.

Zach wanted to ask about Owen again. He'd never gotten an answer and he wanted Owen there with him and the twins. He needed to convince them to listen to him. That was the whole reason he was there. But he didn't ask. He followed behind them and soon he was stepping into Claire's car. Claire was talking a mile a minute, falling back into her old habits. She rattled off facts about the twins, about them themselves and their new enclosure. About the structure and size, about the safety and how they'd yet to attack the walls. Or anything or anyone, really. She explained how the twins were situated between Rexy and the raptors. And that all three paddocks were connected by gates. The twins had gotten pretty attached to Rexy. And the newly built monorail track made several loops overtop all three enclosures.

But all of this, Zach already knew. He'd been involved in everything from the start of the new designs. The gates had been his idea, thinking it would keep all the dinosaurs involved happy. Simon also already knew everything. He'd been trying to be more hands-on with the island since the reopen. He'd had a house built for himself on the island and he was there at least once a week. But both men were just humoring her. Claire was happiest when she was in business mode.

"We had wanted to try training them for the invisible fences..." She was saying as she pulled the car into the parking lot. "But the liability alone at the moment..."

"We're here." Simon announced loudly, even though Claire had been the one driving.

Zach laughed as he practically jumped out. He raced inside to the main viewing window for Rexy. There were a few people inside, clamoring to catch a look at the old girl. Zach squeezed in and pressed his face to the glass like the others. But he didn't see her. "Damnit." He pushed away from the window with a sigh. He really had wanted to see her. And he doubted he'd be able to get in there with her. He wasn't really sure if she'd even remember him. It had been a long time and she was rather old.

"Hang on." Claire said, pulling her phone out. She swiped her fingers over it and put it to her ear. "Lowery, patch me through to the T-Rex control room, uh... what's his name..."

"Reese." Zach said automatically.

Claire glanced at him. "Reese. Yes."

A few minutes later, a man Zach recognized by voice came into the viewing area. He held a microphone out. "Who wants it?" He asked. Claire pointed to Zach and Reese turned towards him. He stared at him for a moment and tilted his head. "You may think you're just like Owen..." Reese started and then paused and shook his head. "God help us all that there's two." He mumbled under his breath. "But you aren't going in there with her." He said louder.

Zach nodded his head as he took the microphone. "Yes, sir."

Reese sighed and shook his head. "She's being stubborn." He said. "She's just on the other side of the trees there." He said, pointing. "Just standing there." Reese shook his head and turned.

Zach waited until Reese left before bringing the microphone closer to his mouth. "Uh..." His voice echoed over the speakers. Zach glanced up for a moment. He wasn't really sure what to say. He pressed closer to the glass. The crowd parted, staring at him with interest. Zach lifted the mic again. "Rexy." He said her name softly. "Rexy." He called a second time, in an almost singsong voice. "Where's my girl at?"

There was a shifted in the trees. The leaves fluttered for a moment before Rexy's large head poked through. She stared for a moment.

"Rexy!" Zach smiled. "You gonna come over and say hi?"

She blinked and stepped forward slowly. Her large steps brought her across the paddock in a few strides. She moved closer to the viewing platform. She bent down and put her eye right up against it as a few gasps rang through the room.

Zach waved wildly. "Hey, Rexy! Remember me!?" She let out a rumble. It was a soft rumble for her but it still seemed to shake the platform. Zach let out a laugh as she practically rubbed against the glass. "You remember your um... stitches?" He turned to the side. He bent down and craned his neck back, trying to mimic her. Rexy snorted loudly and bobbed her whole body, like she was nodding. It was a mannerism she picked up from the raptors. She pressed herself to the ground like she'd done the few times he climbed on her back.

It was a lame trick. Zach certainly didn't think it was impressive. He hadn't realized he'd taught her a trick anyways. If it could even be called that. But the crowd around him broke out in cheers and gasps. All around him, people held out phones and cameras, taking videos and pictures. A few were turned towards him and he realized he'd been recorded the whole time.

Huh.

 **-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-**

 **Author's Notes:** Twins and raptors will be up next. The outline for this chapter just kept getting longer. So I split it! 8D And yes. I did listen to the Single Ladies song on repeat while editing this. _Single Ladies_ by Beyoncé and _Baby Got Back_ by Sir Mix-a-lot. I can't remember how the idea came about, but I remember talking with Momma Pink one right while I was laying in bed. And somehow, we were talking about Owen losing a bet and having to sing Baby Got Back at a show with the raptors. But I was half asleep. And Pink offered to write it down for me so I wouldn't forget. XD But I grabbed a notebook out of the new notebook drawer and scribbled down the note in the dark. I found said notebook the other day and laughed. But really... the song isn't very family friendly. XD ANYWAYS... PINK! IF YOU EVER READ THIS STORY AGAIN, DO YOU REMEMBER THIS LATE NIGHT CONVERSATION?!


	5. Pace

Soooo here we are. Finally, right? Editing part 1 of this took monstrosity took me 42 days and earned 40,983 words. The second part... I have no clue. Maaaaany months. Many things happened that prevented me from working on it. The biggest thing was the broken arm. Couldn't type or write for a few months. Then work stuff. The Discord peeps have been listening to me rant. Well... when I can. I don't get a lot of time or energy to rant lately. Anyways, Drop Anchor has been edited and finished and posted and added 48,685 words to the story! As promised, you don't have to re-read. I will summarize the additions. So if you want to skip the summary and just re-read, stop now and go back. If you want to read the summary, continue. Either way, here is the new chapter of Periphery that I've actually had done since April. 8D

Raptor Summary: In Raptor, the boys were on the island for a few more days, Zach is a little more cranky, Barry and Owen get a bit more back-story and were in the Navy Seals, Claire gets a new back-story as well (Karen, too, a bit I guess). Claire used to really close with her father and Zach, as well, before Gray was born. They spent time with grandpa, fixing old cars. Then grandpa got sick and old and kept forgetting everyone. Claire pulled away because it hurt too much and developed the cold hearted exterior we all know and love. Ugh. Oh! And Gray met Tony Stark/Iron Man when he was 9ish.

Drop Anchor Summary: Zach goes to summer school to get his grades up. Owen's coma lasts longer. So Zach's on the island longer. Owen is more hurt and takes longer to heal and Doctor Tim actually puts him back in a coma for a while because Owen is more stubborn and stupid. Lowery is transgender, little bit of background on him. He and Zach bond more. Some hinting of Scott abusing Gray a little. Claire trying more. Lowery trying more. Simon a little more friendly, if that's believable. Tony Stark is the annoying guy Claire's mentioned a few times and he's been helping with Charlie's tail.

Basically, I think that's it. I fixed a loooot of typos, too, cleaned up a lot. Nameless helped. And I think I'm happier with it. Although, it has taken me way longer than I meant to. But again, broken arm. Soooo... that's all! I hope to be able to actually update again! 8D At some point. Until then... enjoy! Hope you still love me!

Also, I can't post links on FFN, but I have a Discord server chat for fans to annoy me. My username is Chas#0048. Friend me and I'll invite you! 8D

 **Raptor Heart  
Periphery  
Chapter 5: Pace**

"It's trending pretty well." Zara said over the line. "Already 100k views and counting."

Zach's eyes widened. "But... how? It's been like 20 minutes!"

Someone had uploaded the video of Zach and Rexy to the fan video section of the Jurassic World website. It was flagged with tags like new exhibit, new trainer, Rexy's new tricks, and a dozen others. Zara's team was alerted almost immediately and she logged in. She wasted no time and logged into their own cameras. She complied a short video of her own, from every camera angle available, and uploaded it. Then cross tagged it with the other and with all other videos and pictures being uploaded from the growing crowd. Then suddenly, more people than just the guests were viewing it. And it was going viral.

"My team may have helped a little bit." Zara said over the speakerphone of Claire's cell. "I have someone putting an auto-tune track over the video, and some lights and effects."

"Seriously." Zach deadpanned. "You're turning my lame trick of Rexy kneeling... into a music video."

"Crudely, yes." Zara answered.

"But... why?" Zach asked, shaking his head. He just didn't understand. At all.

"Exposure." Zara answered. "Get the fans to recognize you before you even start. You'll be famous shortly. At least in our little world."

"Uh..." No, he didn't understand. He was still lost.

"We might even have a meme on our hands." Zara continued. "We've got a few new video uploads in the last few minutes, of users at home, acting it out with their pets."

Zach's eyes widened. "What?"

"What?" Zara's voice faded out for a minute. "Hang on, I'm being told there's another video going viral. Something recently uploaded... oh my god." She gasped over the line. "Seriously?"

Claire frowned and pulled the phone closer to her face. "What? Zara? Is there something wrong?"

"I have to go." Zara answered. "I will text you the video link. Just don't freak out, Claire. It seems the audience really liked it. This might become a thing."

"What? What audience? What thing?" Claire tried to get Zara to explain more but the line was dead. She stared blankly at her screen for a moment before a video flashed across the screen. "This must be what she was talking about." She said. Zach and Simon pressed in closer as Claire held the phone out and hit play.

Owen appeared on the screen. "Ladies and gentlemen, boys and girls, welcome to the Raptor Paddock. For those of you who do not know me, I am the pack alpha, Owen Grady. What we have for you today is a little different..."

Claire's eyes widened as the music started. Then her mouth dropped open as Owen started singing. And dancing. With the raptor. "Oh my god! Did he... did he seriously do this? _Seriously_?" She glanced down at the comments feed under the video. "He did this _today_?! Just now? I'm going to kill him!" She snapped loudly. She spun around and stalked down the hall rather loudly. They'd been inside the T-Rex building, chatting for a moment with Rexy's head trainer, Reese, when Zara originally called. Claire headed straight for the door and slammed it loudly behind her.

Simon watched her for a moment and sighed. He crossed his arms and tilted his head.

"We uh... should we follow her?" Zach asked, turning towards him.

Simon glanced sideways at him and shook his head. "No, I don't think so."

Zach nodded slowly and pulled out his phone. He logged into his account with the site and found the videos of him and Rexy. They were already tagged to his account. Zara and her team did work fast. Then he found the new video of Owen's show. He smiled as he hit play and scrolled halfway through, to where Owen started really dancing.

"What do you think?" Simon asked, moving closer. He leaned over Zach's shoulder and smiled as he watched as well. "Does seem like the audience enjoyed it."

Zach nodded his head. "Karaoke with the raptors. Could totally be a thing. Could have the audience suggest songs."

Simon nodded his head slowly. "Yes, that does sound like an excellent idea. I'd imagine it would be rather fun, up there on the stage dancing with Echo."

Zach let out a laugh and nodded his head. "It would. I'd totally do it."

"I would as well." Simon agreed. "Would be better to have the other raptors. Big crowd pleaser."

Zach nodded his head. "We'll just have to talk to them." He said with a smile. "Convince them."

Simon let out a laugh and nodded his head. "Yes, yes we will, my boy! Now, let's go see your twins!"

When they got outside, Claire was gone. But Lowery was there. He was standing, leaning against a park jeep. His arms were crossed and he didn't really look happy to be there. But Simon didn't seem to notice. He smiled brightly and stepped towards him. "Change your mind and decided to join us?"

Lowery frowned for a moment. "I wasn't invited." He answered stiffly.

Simon laughed and reached out to clap Lowery on the shoulder. "You are always invited, my friend."

"Yes... well... Claire called me." Lowery said, clearing his throat and looking away. "Something about killing Owen. Asked me to come uh... pick you guys up."

Simon laughed again. "Did you see the video?"

Lowery pushed off from the jeep and dropped his arms. "I uh... I might have been watching a live feed when Zach arrived." He answered softly.

Simon frowned. "You didn't tell me?"

"You were with Claire at the time." Lowery said, his tone apologetic. "So no, I didn't tell you. I knew she'd stop it."

"Did you see the whole thing?" Zach asked softly.

Lowery nodded. "Yeah, saw it after it was uploaded." He answered, hardly looking at Zach.

"Come on, boys! Let's go!" Simon snatched the keys from Lowery and climbed into the driver's seat. Lowery and Zach piled in and they were soon on their way to the twin's paddock. When they arrived, Simon excused himself again for a phone call. He waved them inside while he walked back out towards the jeep.

And once again, Zach was left alone with Lowery. He sighed deeply and scratched at the back of his neck. He really didn't want to be alone with him. But maybe they should talk about it. He glanced around quickly, making sure they were alone. "Hey... uh... about what happened back there..." He started softly and stopped. He breathed out and turned away. He changed his mind. He definitely didn't want to talk about it.

"Look..." Lowery scratched at the back of his neck, breaking the awkward silence. "I did what I thought was right, okay? But it's done and over with and... you're an adult now so you can make all the mistakes you want."

Zach spun around and frowned. "Owen is not a mistake." He said.

Lowery smiled and shrugged. "I didn't mean it like that. But he's just like literally twice your age. And your aunt's ex. And the product of some weird genetic experiment or whatever."

Zach rolled his eyes. "They went on one date and Owen's got his raptor under control... wait... what did you mean?" He asked, tilting his head.

"You're 18." Lowery said. "He's like mid to late 30's. That's means..."

"No." Zach interrupted, shaking his head. "You said you did what you thought was right."

Lowery stared at him for a moment. "Yeah, back last year."

Zach was even more confused now. "What?"

Lowery frowned for a moment. He opened his mouth slowly. "Uh... I thought he would have told you..."

"Who?" Zach asked. "Owen? Told me what?"

Lowery sucked in a breath and looked away. "I was the one who told Simon." He admitted softly.

Zach's eyes widened. "You told Simon?"

"Oh no!" Lowery shook his head quickly and turned back. "No, no, not about... uh... _you_. Just that... uh... I was the reason he made you leave so fast."

"Oh." Zach breathed out, feeling relieved. Another person knowing about his and Owen's relationship... yeah, that wasn't a good thing. Lowery knowing was bad enough. Zach didn't want anyone to know. At least not for a long while.

Lowery continued. "I told him you were too comfortable and being a minor and all..." He trailed off with a sigh.

Zach nodded slowly. He breathed out. "Yeah, I didn't know... but I guess it's fine. You were right. I was too attached and comfortable. And I did need to go home."

Lowery smiled slowly. He breathed out and looked like a weight had been lifted off him. "I was worried you both would be mad at me for interfering."

Zach shook his head. "If I'd known when it happened... yeah, I would have been. For a while at least. But I understand your reasons. And... you were right. You are also right again in that I'm an adult now. I can make my own decisions. And I've thought a lot about it over the last year. I'm confident on what I want in life."

Lowery smiled and nodded his head. "Good for you."

Zach smiled. And then the smile quickly fell and he stepped closer to Lowery. "But still... you won't tell anyone, right?"

Lowery shook his head. "No, I won't tell anyone. Not my stuff to tell."

Zach breathed out and smiled again. "If it makes you feel better... uh... we still haven't... done anything. Owen's... a frustrating gentleman." He mumbled.

Lowery laughed and lifted up his hands. "None of my business, but that does ease my conscious a bit."

"So then... we're friends again?" Zach asked awkwardly. Though he wasn't exactly sure they weren't. Or if they ever really were. He was never sure if Lowery was just too busy to talk to him or if the ghosting thing was just his imagination. Or that they actually weren't friends at all, that Lowery was only nice to him because of Owen.

Lowery smiled and nodded his head. "Yeah. I'd uh... like that."

"So..." Zach shoved his hands in his pockets and stepped closer. "Since we're friends again... I can ask you... what the hell is going on with you and Simon?"

Lowery's eyes widened a bit and he stared at Zach blankly. He blinked for a moment and then looked away. "I uh... I don't know... what you mean." He stumbled over the words a bit.

"Oh come on." Zach rolled his eyes and shook his head. "Are you guys dating? Is it a secret or something?"

Lowery sighed and ran a hand through his head. "No. We're not." He answered a bit sourly.

"Oh... I'm sorry." Zach said quickly, pulling his hands out of his pockets. "I didn't mean to assume."

Lowery shrugged. "Nah. It's not that." He said shaking his head. "Straight, gay, I don't care. Last year, was dealing with a slight crush on Owen. Actually, probably for a couple years. But I think that was more infatuation. Fangirling over the awesomeness. I knew I never really had a chance."

Zach smiled and stuffed his hands in his pockets again. "Don't be so hard on yourself." He said. "You could have, maybe once. But you know, he's off limits now."

Lowery let out a laugh and nodded. "Yeah, I could tell."

Zach dropped his gaze to the ground for a moment, as that warm and fuzzy feeling settled in and spread. But he wasn't trying to make the moment about him. He was genuinely curious. "So then... Simon?" He prompted after a moment, changing the subject back again.

Lowery sighed and crossed his arms. "It's weird." He said finally. "He's always been... nice... cordial with everyone on the island. The workers, I mean. Employees. And always like... overly friendly with me. But that's it. Just... friendly. I never thought anything about it. But over the last year..." Lowery bit his lip and looked away. "I just don't understand. He's always... touching me and calling me when he's here. He has a house here, right? And he's spending more time on the island. But I just... I can't tell if he's just... being _more_ overly friendly or if it's... something else."

"You haven't talked to him about it?" Zach asked.

Lowery shook his head. "No... I haven't."

"Is he making you uncomfortable?" Zach asked slowly. "You should talk to him if he does."

Lowery shook his head again. "No, no. I..." He trailed off for a moment and looked at the floor. "...might like the attention." He finally added.

Zach raised an eyebrow. "Might?"

Lowery sighed and shrugged. "I'm not sure how I feel yet."

"Is this because..." Zach looked around quickly and dropped his voice to barely a whisper. "You know... the trans thing?"

Lowery shrugged yet again. "Not really. I mean... that fear is always a given."

Zach reached out and patted the man on the shoulder. "Everyone deserves love, dude."

Lowery laughed and pushed him away gently. "The issue is... I can't figure him out, you know? Like... is he gay or straight or in-between? He's never once mentioned dating someone. I broke down and tried looking him up on the internet. Figure there had to be some tabloid shit about him. Somewhere. But..." Lowery shook his head and trailed off again.

Zach nodded slowly. "But... if he did ask you out?"

He didn't answer right away. Instead, he stared down at his hand and picked at a nail. "Maybe."

Zach rolled his eyes and shook his head. "Whatever."

"You uh... won't say anything, right?"

Zach tilted his head. "Say anything?" He repeated.

Lowery straightened up. "If I have to keep _your_ secret about Owen, you have to keep mine."

Zach frowned for a moment. "That you might like Simon?"

Lowery nodded. "Yes."

Zach rolled his eyes again but smiled.

"I heard my name." Simon said, walking up behind them.

Lowery's face was red and he looked at the ground.

Zach shrugged and turned towards Simon, trying to keep the man's attention for a moment while Lowery composed himself. "Just waiting for you." He said with a smile.

Simon smiled back. "You didn't have to."

Zach shrugged again. "It's your park."

Simon laughed and nodded. "It is, isn't it? Just... don't tell your aunt!"

Zach laughed again. "Yeah, never!"

"Well..." Simon said, stepping closer. "Let's not keep them waiting any longer!" He wrapped his around them both and steered them towards the doors.

Zach pulled away before they got there and started running. The other two men just weren't moving fast enough for him. He'd waited long enough and the conversation with Lowery had taken nearly forever. Only a few minutes, but still! It was taking forever! He was through the doors and down the hall towards the fence area before Lowery and Simon were even inside. Zach had never been there, but he knew the layout. He ran straight to the fence and pressed his face right against the bars. Video calls were okay. But they were nothing compared to being able to see his twins up close. To touch them and talk to them. "INDIGO! MINNIE!" He called out loudly. "MOMMY'S HERE!"

He knew they were big. He'd seen pictures and videos on the website. And he saw them on video calls daily. But still, nothing prepared him for actually seeing them. He sucked in a breath and took a step back as they stepped out of the line of trees. They weren't quite as big as Rexy yet. And Indigo was still a bit bigger than her sister. But Minnie was faster. She let out a loud squeal and launched herself from the cover of the trees. Indigo stood still for a moment, watching in confusion. She tilted her head. When she finally saw Zach, she snorted and took off as well.

Minnie pulled to a stop and pressed her nose to the fence. Zach laughed. He reached between the bars and touched her forehead. "Hey, Minnie." He said softly. "You behaving?"

Minnie let out a rumble in her chest. And then Indigo was there, pushing her sister out of the way roughly as she vied for Zach's attention, too.

"Indigo!" Zach wagged a finger at her. "Don't be mean! You wait your turn!"

Indigo ducked down and let out a whine.

Zach couldn't help but smile. He reached through the bars and rubbed Indigo's forehead as well. "I missed you guys." He said, leaning his whole body against the bars. He took a deep breath and breathed it out. Both of them let out little whines. And Zach just wanted to stay there, hanging out and catching up on lost time. But time was something he didn't have. So as much as he regretted it, he pushed off the bars and turned.

Simon and Lowery were there, watching.

"Uh... hey." Zach said, lifting his hand to wave at them awkwardly.

They walked closer and the twins huffed out a greeting. Lowery and Simon both lifted their hands, to wave at them.

"So..." Zach rocked back on his heels a bit. "Can we get the gate open?"

 **-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-**

He heard her. He swore he heard her from miles away. But Barry just laughed and called him crazy. "She's coming!" Owen insisted. "To _kill_ me. Right here, right now! And it's all your fault."

Barry shook his head. "I gave you a second option, my friend."

"I'm not telling you his name!" Owen shouted.

So Owen knew. He knew he was dead. He knew she was coming for him and that would be the end. Which was why he was hiding. Inside the raptor enclosure, on the safe side of the fence. With the raptors. He was safe inside with the raptors. Safe from Firelady. Blue shook her head and rolled her eyes and sometimes Owen hated the human mannerisms they picked up from him.

 _[Your fault.]_ She said. _[Said no dance. Fool.]_

Owen narrowed his eyes into a glare and jumped at her. He caught her completely by surprise and he successfully pinned her. But Delta joined in, taking Blue's side and thumped Owen with her tail. Echo jumped into the game and knocked Delta over and sat on her.

Charlie sat back and snorted loudly. Then she paused and straightened up. _[Firelady!]_ She called out loudly. She caught the scent first and turned.

"What?" Owen untangled himself and moved to stand next to Charlie. He lifted his hand and balled it into a fist. Hold, he silently told the raptors. And then he heard it. He heard the footsteps and could smell her. But she was on _their_ side of the fence. _Holy fucking shit!_ She was on their side of the fence! She was on the safe side! Their safe side! Maybe if no one moved, they'd be safe. He'd be safe!

"Owen!" She screeched. "I know you're in here! I checked the cameras! I saw you come in here! Get your ass out here now!"

Owen glanced back at the raptors. "Deniability!" He whispered. Then he strutted out of the jungle brush like he'd done nothing wrong ever in his entire life. "Hey, boss lady. Fancy meeting you here."

The raptors followed and Charlie stretched her neck out to Claire. She was still a few feet away, but closer than her sisters to Firelady.

Claire paused for a moment and smiled. "Hello, Charlie." She said softly. "You doing good?"

Charlie nodded her head.

"Your tail good?" Claire asked.

Charlie turned to the side and wagged it a bit. The newest prototype had arrived a few days before. It looked just like the last one. Actually, it looked just like the last three before that. But this one was better, Tony Stark had said. And he had designs for another one. But he wanted to meet with the kid in charge of Charlie's recovery first.

Claire smiled again as she stepped closer. She reached out and touched the prosthetic tail without flinching a bit. "The painting job looks wonderful. I can't really tell."

Charlie hummed in appreciation and nodded her head.

Claire nodded and let out a laugh. Then her eyes narrowed and she crossed her arms. "You!" She spat, looking at Owen.

"Who? Me?" Owen feigned ignorance. "What'd I do?"

"I saw it!" She snapped again, her jaw clenched.

Owen paused. "Saw what?" He repeated.

Her eyes narrowed further. "Someone recorded the whole thing and uploaded it to the website!" She snapped.

Owen breathed out and scratched at the back of his neck. Of course they had. He'd seen all the phones and cameras out at the show. He actually kind of wanted to see what it looked like from the audience's prospective.

Claire continued, her voice still raised. "You sang and danced to a highly inappropriate song!"

Owen snorted and shook his head, trying to play it off like it was nothing. "I didn't sing the bad lines!"

Claire crossed her arms. "Shake that butt?"

"Healthy butt." Owen corrected. "I'm supporting healthy body images!"

Claire shook her head. "There were kids at that show!"

Owen rolled his eyes. "Yeah, and watching a dinosaur rip apart an animal is better than watching one dance and sing about healthy butts?"

"The raptor was not singing." She pointed out. "You were."

Owen shrugged. "So?"

"So!" Claire threw up her arms. "There are a million more appropriate songs!"

"And I stopped because I realized that!" Owen pointed out.

"You realized after?" She snapped.

"I lost a bet!" He whined loudly. "This is all Barry's fault!"

She stared at him. "A bet." She repeated. "You lost a bet. With Barry."

"Yes!" Owen nodded his head.

Claire was silent a moment, like she was rolling that around in her head. It was such a ridiculous excuse. "And that makes it okay?"

"It makes it not my fault!" Owen argued.

"You did it!" She snapped.

"He made me!" He snapped back.

"You're an adult!" She screamed. Then she paused. She turned to the side, away from him. "Maybe I was wrong." She said softly.

Owen frowned at her quick change in demeanor. "Wrong about what?" He asked, stepping closer.

She sighed and shook her head. "When InGen pulled out and dropped all funding for the raptor program, I didn't hesitate to put you in charge." She looked back at him. "Because you've been pretty much in charge anyways, at least in charge of them since they were born. You _know_ them. And I trusted you to know exactly how to promote them. And your shows have been a big hit and you've producing adequate revenue for a first year attraction."

Owen frowned. "Just adequate?"

Claire nodded her head. "Yes, adequate, based on the numbers."

"What numbers?" He asked.

"Well... you've taken over the debt from the InGen project." She said, lapsing into her business mode. "That includes everything invested in the raptor program from the start. All the genetics and..." She shrugged and shook her head. "Whatever Wu did. He put a lot of time and effort into them in the beginning. Then there's the cost of the first enclosure, safety and construction. Your expenses..."

"Me?" He interrupted stiffly, wondering exactly what she meant.

Claire nodded. "Hiring you, moving the trailer to the edge of the island, hiring your friend..."

"My home's included?" He interrupted again.

She lifted her hand and waved it a bit. "Sort of. Just an initial fee, charged to the program. And then all of Hoskins high tech gear..."

Owen shook his head. "I didn't approve of any of that."

"Doesn't matter." She shook her head. "Still a part of the original debt. And then there's everything since you've taken over. The new enclosure, the camera and audio equipment, your stage and viewing platform, the cost of your shows... all of that adds up."

Owen breathed out. It all made sense, he guessed. He just never really thought about it. "To how much exactly?"

Claire tilted her head to the side. "It's more of a time frame than an actual number, as cost changes over time."

"Then what's the time frame?" He asked.

"5 years." She answered.

Owen's mouth dropped open. "5 years?"

Claire nodded her head. "If your popularity continues to grow steadily, you'll be a successful attraction in 5 years. More or less depending on how steadily.""

Owen ran a hand through his hair and shook his head slowly. "Damn."

Claire nodded. "Assuming your stunt today didn't tank your numbers."

Owen scoffed. "Tank?"

Claire nodded again. "Zara said it looked like it could go viral like Zach's. But it's hard to tell this early..."

Owen interrupted her again. "Zach's?" What did he had to do with any of this?

"Could be good or bad." Claire continued, ignoring his outburst.

"I didn't sing the bad parts!" Owen insisted.

"No, but if kids sing it, they'll look it up on the internet and learn the rest of the song." She pointed out. "Then parents will ask where they learned it and kids will tell them. And parents are the ones with the money."

Owen sighed. "Bottom line is money, huh?"

"Bottom line is _always_ money, Mr. Grady." Claire said dryly. "You have no idea how much it costs a day to keep this place running. An hour, a minute! It's insane!"

"Okay, okay." Owen relented, holding up his hands. "I get it."

"I hope you do." She said in a stern voice. "So no more inappropriate songs! Got it?"

Owen nodded slowly and a smile spread across his face. "So... it wasn't the dance... it was the song?"

Claire nodded. "I could care less about what your shows are as long as they're family friendly and show good numbers."

Owen smiled again. "Did you see the other dance?"

Claire nodded. "Yes."

"What about that one?" He asked.

She paused for a moment. Then she shrugged. "Better than the first. Though... next time... practice a little more beforehand. You messed up some of the moves."

Owen's jaw dropped open. "I did not!" He snapped. "That was flawless."

Claire raised her eyebrows. "Really? You think so?"

Owen nodded. "Yes."

Claire sighed and stepped back. She dipped forward slightly, bent her back, bounced, and then snapped up and spun around. She mimicked a sequence in the dance routine for a few beats flawlessly. Then she stopped and straightened up. She brushed herself off. " _That_ is how you do that part." She said, pointing.

Owen's jaw dropped open again and his eyes widened.

"And no." She continued quickly. "You are not getting me on that stage with you."

Owen blinked for a moment. "Come on!"

"No!" She spun around quickly.

"Claire!" He followed a step behind her. "We could have a dance off!"

"NO!" She snapped.

Owen stopped and glanced back at the raptors. "She's totally no fun... oh... wait!" He turned back around and ran to catch up with her again. "Wait! You said something about Zach?"

She paused at the fence and turned. "I did." She nodded.

"Well..." Owen prompted. "What?"

"He was filmed with Rexy." She answered evenly.

Owen's eyes widened. "When? Now? He's here? Like right now?"

Claire nodded. "Yeah, he arrived early. The ferry was ahead of schedule."

So many thoughts and emotions ran through his head. "So... where is he now?"

Claire pulled out her phone and glanced at the time. "He should still be with the twins."

"Shit." Owen breathed out and shook his head.

Claire frowned. "What?"

"Just... wanted... to be here, I guess?" Owen answered lamely. "I know he was nervous."

Claire nodded slowly. "He was. Is." She tilted her head. "Not really sure now."

"You're not sure?" He repeated.

Claire pulled out her phone again. She swiped her fingers across it for a moment and then handed it over to Owen.

It was the video of Zach and Rexy. Owen watched it all the way through. He was disappointed to have missed it, of course. He had so little time with his mate. He'd wanted to be at the docks when he arrived, like he'd been a year ago. And Owen had wanted to take him to see their little extended family. He wanted them together. But Owen was also bursting with pride for his young mate. And judging by the comments, amount of views, and related videos popping up in the feed, Zach was quickly gaining popularity within their online community. "So he's with the twins now?" Owen asked, handing the phone back.

Claire nodded. "I think so. I left him with Simon and sent Lowery to drive them."

"When you came to kill me?"

Her eyes narrowed for a moment. "Hey, you're lucky." She said. "I have too much invested in you to kill you."

"More than you know." He mumbled, glancing back at the raptors.

She frowned. "What?"

"I said, I know." He corrected loudly.

 **-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-**

 **Author's Notes:** OMFG THIS TOOK SO LONG AND I'M SORRY!


	6. Pluck

Sooooooo... after the massive rewrite, I got a bit burnt out on Raptor. XD So I took a little break. Which turned into almost 3 months because of work and junk. (I worked 9 weeks in a fucking row! Every day! I might have already whined about that.) But anyways... then I promised several people that there would be an update last week because I scheduled myself 3 days off to do just that! AND THEN I GOT THE FLU! Ugh! So the universe totally has it out for me! But here! FINALLY! Chapter 6! 8D

Also, FFN people, if you wanna join my Discord chat server and bug me on a daily basis, add me! Chas#0048 and I'll invite since FFN won't let me post links. XD

 **Raptor Heart  
Periphery  
Chapter 6: Pluck  
**

Simon sidled closer to the man beside him. His eyes never left the scene unfolding beyond the fence in front of him and he swallowed nervously. His hands shook a bit as he clenched his fists at his sides. "Please tell me you turned off the camera." His voice was barely a whisper, as if he expected her to hear him and swoop down from the sky like a vulture to yell at him. Which was a ridiculous image yet Simon had to fight the urge to look up at the sky.

Lowery let out a laugh and nodded his head. "I turned them off when you guys where done with Rexy."

"Good, good." Simon breathed out, still not taking his eyes off them. "We never repeat this to Claire."

Lowery let out a laugh and glanced sideways at Simon. The man's eyes were wide and Lowery thought he looked close to running in there himself to stop it. "At this point... do you really think this would surprise her?"

"I honestly don't know." Simon's voice was barely a whisper.

Lowery frowned and tilted his head. "What did you expect would happen when you agreed to this?"

Simon finally tore his eyes away from the fence to look at Lowery. "Not this."

"No!" Zach shouted, pointing in Indigo's general direction. "You stay! You don't move! And turn visible again! Now! No camouflaging!"

Indigo's skin pigment shifted, becoming white again. She shook her head and stamped her foot.

Zach wavered a bit on his feet from her movements. But he didn't back down. "No, Indigo! I mean it!"

Simon shook his head. "We should stop this... we should get him out of there!"

Lowery smiled and crossed his arms. "I think he's fine."

"Oh really?" Simon snapped.

Lowery shrugged. "No clue. But I'm not going in there to help or anything. But pretty sure he's got this."

Zach frowned at Indigo and shook his head. "NO!" He shouted, louder and more forceful that time. That did it. Indigo turned around and flopped down on the ground. She let out a sad whine and rested her head on her tail. Zach nodded his head. "Okay. Better. Stay." He said, holding up his hands. Indigo was bigger than her sister. Bigger and stronger. One of his greatest fears was one of the twins hurting the other, like Ida had done. He needed to make sure that never happened.

He was so focused on them that he didn't hear it at first. It wasn't until both of the twins straightened up and looked past him that Zach finally heard it. He turned at the sound that he knew. He heard it. He'd never heard it before, of course. He'd never been in the enclosure, not in person. But he just knew what that sound was. He _felt_ it. He sucked in a breath and held it as he waited. And it felt like an eternity!

"Echo! I said to wait!"

The yelled voice carried a moment before she burst through the trees, not sparing a second stop. She made a beeline for Zach and raced over. She didn't slow or stop as Zach lifted his hands and took a step back. Zach had two seconds to brace himself before she slid into him. He fell backwards from her momentum, the two of them rolling for a moment.

Echo flopped over and scrambled back up. Indigo let out a distressed squeal and Minnie stepped closer. She bent down and nudged Zach's shoulder gently. Then she looked up at Echo and narrowed her eyes. Echo let out a squeal and danced back out of the way.

Zach lifted his arm and waved. He was fine. Well... mostly fine, he was sure. The wind was just knocked out of him. He struggled for a minute to catch his breath and then he quickly sat up. "I'm fine. I'm fine." He said, taking a deep breath. "I'm fine." He repeated, breathing out.

Echo tilted her head to the side, watching. Indigo stood beside her. Minnie nudged his back. She was still standing over him, looking down with concern. Zach sighed and attempted to push her away. It didn't work. She was too big. But she took the hint and lifted her head away.

Owen and the other raptors finally broke through the tree line. The all paused for a moment.

Zach smiled and waved as he saw them. "Hey!" He called out.

Owen frowned for a moment as he got closer. "Why are you on the ground?" He asked with concern.

Zach shook his head and waved it off as he stood up. He quickly brushed himself off and didn't answer as he smiled at the other raptors. He stepped closer to Charlie first and threw his arms around her neck. "I missed you so much." He had talked to them, of course, but it was so different. Talking to them over the phone or in video chats was nothing compared to being with them face-to-face again. Being able to touch them and hug them. He hugged each one in turn although Delta snapped at him as he pulled away. Zach rolled his eyes and smacked her in the back of the head. "Don't get mouthy with your mother." He said.

Delta hung her head in apology and stepped back. Blue snorted and shook her head, watching them and looking slightly annoyed. Zach finally looked back at Owen and the Raptor Alpha was standing there with his arms crossed, watching the whole reunion in silence. "So are you going to answer my question as to why you were on the ground?" He asked.

Zach shrugged it off again and looked away. His eyes settled on the gate and he smiled. He looked back at the raptors. "Go say hi to Simon and Lowery."

Echo darted over to the fence first. She didn't stop until she nearly collided with it as well. She stuck her nose right between the bars and let out a loud chip at the too men. Simon laughed and reached out to touch her nose. Lowery did as well with only a second of hesitation.

"Oh, come on." Simon said with a laugh, bumping his shoulder against Lowery's. "You can't still be scared of them. After all that's happened." Lowery shrugged a bit and dipped his head. He didn't answer. Simon opened his mouth to say more but then his phone rang, interrupting him. He let out a sigh as he pulled it out. "I'll be right back. I have to take this." Then he looked through the gates and he waved. "Good morning, Owen. I have a call. I will be right back." He explained before turning.

Zach and Owen walked across the clearing towards the fence. The raptors trailed behind and the twins moved closer as well. Owen smiled at the twins and reached out to touch their noses as he passed. Both vied for his attention and he laughed and waved them out of the way.

"Cute." Lowery said, watching.

Zach shrugged and leaned his back against the gate. "They are."

"In a giant, still terrifying, could eat you kind of way." Lowery added.

Owen let out a laugh as he pressed closer to the gate. He pushed Echo out of the way and she let out a chirp and pressed in closer again. "So why was he on the ground?" Owen asked, looking at Lowery.

Lowery didn't hesitate before answering. "Echo knocked him over."

Owen's mouth dropped open. "Echo!"

Zach sighed and shrugged. "She was excited." He said. "She didn't mean to."

Echo nodded her head and bobbed her whole body. Then she darted around Owen and rubbed her nose against Zach's arm.

Owen watched her and shook his head. He wagged a finger in her direction. "I told you to wait." He chastised.

Echo let out a whine and hung her head. She pressed in closer to Zach and attempted to hide behind him.

"Alright, alright." Zach said, throwing up his arms. "That's enough of that. Everything's fine. I'm okay. She literally just knocked me over for a second. Stop being mean to her."

Owen's mouth dropped open. "Being mean?" He snapped. "I'm not being mean!"

"You are, too!" Zach shouted back. "She was just excited."

"Well, she needs to learn to listen." Owen said.

Zach rolled his eyes and crossed his arms. "She listens fine when she needs to."

"She needs to listen all the time!" Owen insisted. "What if you got hurt?"

"I didn't!" Zach snapped. "I'm fine!"

Owen smiled easily. He shoved his hands in his pockets and rocked back on his heels a bit. "I'm glad you're back." He said softly.

A smile spread across Zach's face. He turned and moved closer to the gate. He peered around Lowery and made sure Simon was out of ear range. Then he leaned closer and dropped his voice just in case. "You owe us." He whispered.

Lowery breathed out and glanced over at Owen. "You have five minutes."

Zach turned and looked at the girls. His gaze panned from the raptors to the twins and back. They settled on Echo first and he wagged his finger at her. "Stay here, okay? I mean it." He warned. "Daddy and I are going to go over there and talk about something important." He said, trying to keep a straight face. He turned and grabbed Owen's hand without looking at him. In fact, he refused to look at Owen because he could feel the smile the man was giving him.

They weaved through the trees. Zach tugged on Owen gently and he followed without resistance. Zach knew the layout. He knew where all the cameras were. There weren't many dead spots, but there were a few. He stopped, faltering, and looked around. Studying schematics and video feeds was very different from actually being there, in the jungle, surrounded by the trees. He looked up and turned a bit. Yeah, he might have very well gotten them lost. Nothing looked familiar. But why would it? One tree looked like the next to him.

Owen let out a laugh and Zach glanced back and glared at him. Owen immediately put his free hand up and smiled.

"Just tell me where to go." He hissed. Owen squeezed his hand. He didn't say anything as he backed up a step. Zach turned towards him and followed. Owen didn't even look up as he weaved them through the trees backwards. His eyes never strayed from Zach's and he never faltered. He stopped and Zach glanced around. "Off camera?"

Owen nodded his head slowly. "Yep. Completely off camera."

"Good!" Zach pushed the older man up against the nearest tree.

Owen let out a rumbling laugh and pulled Zach tight against him. Zach leaned in and mashed their lips together. He wasn't gentle about it as he practically attacked the other man's mouth. A moan escaped Zach's throat as he threaded his fingers into Owen's short hair and pulled. Owen gripped him tighter in retaliation and Zach let out a squeak. He pulled away, a bit breathless for a moment. Then he put his lips to Owen's throat and Owen rumbled again. Hands roamed and fingers touched. And 5 minutes wasn't long enough. It wasn't enough time! Both had similar thoughts running through their minds. It would never be enough time.

"OH SIMON, WELCOME BACK." Lowery's voice cut through the jungle. "NO, I'M NOT YELLING."

Owen leaned his head back against the tree as Zach let out a frustrated growl. Owen smiled and pulled Zach against him again. "Shhh." He soothed. "We'll have all the time in the world."

"Not soon enough." Zach grumbled. Owen let out a laugh as he pushed them away from the tree. Zach's eyes narrowed into a glare. "Not funny!"

"It is a little funny." Owen smiled again. "Come on. Better get back." They fell in step as they headed back through the trees. Owen rubbed at his head. "Damn."

"What?" Zach looked over at him.

"A little aggressive back there." Owen said. "I'll go bald if you keep that up."

Zach's eyes widened and he looked at the ground. His face turned a few shades of red. "Sorry." He mumbled.

Owen smiled and bumped his shoulder into Zach's. "Don't be." He said. "I like it... a lot." He added softly. Zach's face darkened another shade and Owen laughed again. "We gotta work on that."

"Oh what?" Zach asked, glancing sideways at the man.

"Your tomato face."

Zach's eyes widened again and he stopped. He lifted his hands to his face, as if attempting to cover it. "Is it bad?"

Owen laughed again and shook his head. "No, not really bad. Kinda cute. But if we're gonna keep sneaking off to make out and you wanna keep this secret, gonna have to work on your poker face."

Zach took a deep breath and nodded. "You think Simon will notice?" He asked softly.

Owen shrugged and started walking again. "I don't think he's clued into that kinda shit."

Zach frowned and hurried to catch up. "What do you mean?"

"Shhhh." He put his finger to his lips. "Couldn't find it." He announced loudly as they stepped out of the tree line.

Zach frowned. "Found what?"

Owen ignored him as he walked towards the group, still standing at the gate. He shoved his hands in his pockets. "Sorry, Echo, We couldn't find it. Zach ran around, to the gate and back several times. Winded himself pretty good. But still couldn't find it."

Simon pressed closer to the fence. "What did she lose?"

"Nemo." Zach huffed out, pretending to be out of breath.

"Told you not to bring it." Owen said. Echo tilted her head, looking at him in confusion.

 _"Him."_ Zach corrected.

Owen rolled his eyes. "The stuffed toy doesn't need a gender."

"Yes he does." Zach argued. "He's a boy."

"This is ridiculous!" Owen lifted his finger and pointed at Zach. "You are being ridiculous!"

"Yes... well..." Simon's eyes were on his phone as he talked. "That was my friend. He will be here the day after tomorrow." He continued and started rattling of the schedule for the investor meetings and demonstrations.

The other three men weren't exactly paying the best attention. Lowery's eyes widened as he looked at Owen. He glanced sideways at Simon. He attempted to point at his own neck and looked back at Owen. Zach frowned, not sure what was happening. He glanced at Owen and the man looked equally confused. Until Zach noticed the mark on Owen's neck. The very angry looking bite mark. Zach's eyes widened and his mouth dropped open. Did he... had he...

Owen glanced at Zach. He tilted his head a bit and furrowed his eyebrows. _What_ , he mouthed the word.

 _I bit you_ , Zach mouthed back.

Owen frowned still, not reading the words correctly. _What?_

Zach rolled his eyes and shook his head. He bared his teeth quickly and pointed at the side of his neck.

Owen blinked and opened his mouth slowly. He touched his neck and flinched. The area was very tender to the touch. He hadn't even realized or felt it. Now he did. He cupped his hand over it and tucked his elbow against his chest. Yep, nothing weird. Just standing there, with his arm folded against his chest.

Simon breathed out a sigh and shook his head. He looked suddenly tired. "I apologize. This whole thing is a mess. So many meetings and demonstrations. Claire keeps adding more..." He rubbed at his forehead and looked up at Zach. "You should be back home with your friends before you have to leave for college."

Zach shook his head quickly. "No, no, no, sir. I'm good with this. It's... uh... good experience. And I missed the raptors and twins." He added and shrugged. "Plus, I kinda owe you, with the scholarship..."

"No." Simon interrupted. He held up his hand and shook his head. "No, my son. That is an investment. We have big plans for you."

"Yes we do." Owen said with a smile.

Lowery shook his head and rolled his eyes.

Zach fought back the urge to look at Owen. Because he really wanted to glare. So bad. Because he could just imagine the huge, goofy grin on the man's face. But Simon was still looking at him. And Zach really didn't want to bring anymore unwanted attention to either of them. So instead, he nodded. "Okay. I hope I can uh... make you proud." He said lamely and he wanted to kick himself.

Simon let out a laugh, not at all catching onto the odd atmosphere around them. "You've already done that and more. You've done amazing work connecting with these animals in such a short time, in a way no one has ever seen before."

Zach's face reddened for a completely different reason. Simon's gaze held such admiration and approval and it was too much for him. He dropped his gaze to the ground and shrugged slightly. He wasn't used to such high praise. Or any praise, really. He wasn't smart like Gray, getting good grades and accolades from teachers. He was used to his father's negativity about everything he did and his mother's disappointment with his attitude.

Lowery cleared his throat. "As much fun as this all has been, sir..."

"Simon." The man corrected automatically.

Lowery continued as if he hadn't been interrupted. "I need to get back to control, you have a meeting, and we should let them get down to training."

Simon turned towards Lowery and frowned. "I don't have a meeting."

Lowery nodded his head. "You do." He insisted. "With Claire." He added.

Simon's eyes widened. "Are you sure?"

Lowery nodded.

"Do you have any idea why?"

Lowery shook his head. "No. She just told me to remind you."

"When?"

"As soon as you're done here."

"She really needs to run these things past me." Simon shook his head. "What if I had made plans?"

"You didn't." Lowery pointed out. "She made sure to check your itinerary and schedule herself in."

Simon shook his head as he pulled his phone back out. "She did no... such..." He pulled up his schedule and right there it was, a lunch meeting with Claire. In fact, he checked the time, he was supposed to be there in 10 minutes. He glanced up, mild panic on his face. "We could all go." He said hopefully.

Owen let out a laugh and shook his head. "It would be wonderful to see her head explode if we showed up uninvited but I think Zach and I have some work to get to." He lifted his arm and tapped on his watch. "Time's ticking."

Simon breathed out and nodded. "Yes, yes, of course, of course. You are correct."

"Yes." Lowery glanced over at them through the gate. "Lots of work to do. _On camera_." He added with an infliction. "I'm turning them back on as soon as I get back to control."

Zach's mouth dropped open. "You mean the cameras are off now?"

Lowery nodded his head. "Yeah, of course. You think I'd let Claire see you on the other side of the fence like this? She would fire me!"

"Me, too." Simon added softly.

"So this _whole_ time." Zach said, an edge to his voice. "There's been no cameras on."

Lowery smiled slyly and nodded. "Yep. But there will be. Just as soon as I get back to control. You have about 10 minutes. So get back on _this_ side of the fence and put on your headsets."

"Yes!" Simon clapped his hands together, smiling again. "Yes, I'm excited to watch! So yes, Lowery. We better get going." He turned and grabbed the other man's arm. "Right now, so we don't keep Claire waiting."

"Well... I... uh..." Lowery stammered a bit and looked over his shoulder at Zach and Owen. "Just remember, people are watching! Zara mentioned live streaming some of it, to amp up views! So put on the microphones! And uh... people! Watching!"

Simon laughed again as he pulled Lowery along. "I think they get it."

"Real smooth." Zach mumbled after the other two men were gone. "Lowery's gonna out us with his over cautiousness before anyone else notices."

Owen laughed and nodded his head. "Probably."

Zach let out a groan and shook his head. "Can you believe he turned the cameras off and didn't say anything?"

Owen shrugged. "Really, was the right thing to do. Bad enough to let Simon see you so close with them. But he's not-so-secretly scared of Claire, too, so... you're safe."

"So no more sneaking off, huh?" Zach asked, a tad sourly.

"Not now." Owen said and tilted his head. "Maybe tonight."

"Tonight?"

"Overbooked." Owen said. "You'll have to bunk with me."

Zach's eyebrow piqued. "Seriously?"

Owen nodded as he stepped closer to the fence. He typed in his code. "Only sensible option, since we're training together. Same schedule and all. Just makes perfect sense." He said, swinging the gate open.

"Lowery didn't object to that?" Zach asked, following him.

Owen shook his head as he shut the gate. "Although honestly, I'm not sure he knows."

Zach sighed as he leaned back against the locked gate. "So there's a lecture coming when he finds out."

Owen shrugged. "No other option."

Zach stared at him. "Yeah. Sure. Lowery, Simon, aunt Claire, a number of other employees. I'm sure they all have couches."

"No." Owen shook his head.

Zach tilted his head. "No?" He repeated, curiously. "Just a blanket no?"

"Yep. No. Not gonna happen." Owen shook his head again and headed inside the building.

Zach pushed off the gate and followed. "So I don't have any say in this?"

Owen paused and turned towards him. He stepped closer and looked the younger man in the eyes. "You always have a say. In everything, Zach." He said evenly. "I'm sorry, I was out of line there. Came out a little demanding."

Zach shrugged. "I kind of liked it."

Owen smiled. "You can bunk with whoever you want."

Zach crossed his arms and tilted his head, like he was actually thinking about it. Who was he kidding? There was never any doubt in his mind. Even if Claire or Simon or whoever got him a hotel room or assigned him somewhere else to stay, he'd just sneak out. He was spending ever spare moment he had with Owen. Even if it was just sleeping. Or not sleeping. He fought the urge to smile and instead just shrugged. "Sure. Since you've already got it settled. It's fine."

Owen shook his head. "Fine? It's just fine?" He said as he turned back down the hall and headed into the office. He grabbed a couple headsets and the pair walked back out towards the gate, still bickering a bit.

Echo had remained quiet thus far while her parents talked. She wasn't really sure what it was about. She wasn't paying much attention. She was too worried and she ran towards the fence the moment they left. But then they were back! And she couldn't wait anymore. She let out a whine.

Zach turned and looked at her. He quickly shook his head. "Nothing's wrong with Nemo." He said. "We were just trying to trick Simon."

"Crash." Owen corrected. "They call him Crash."

Zach paused for a moment and then nodded his head. "Very suitable raptor name for him."

"Just maybe don't tell him."

Zach rolled his eyes. "They call me Trip. Simon can deal with Crash."

Owen smiled. "They call you mom." He pointed out.

"Anyways Echo." Zach continued, looking back at her and lifting his arm. He rubbed her nose and smiled. "I'm sorry we worried you. Crash doesn't know about mommy and daddy and we'd like to keep it that way because we really don't want Firelady knowing."

Blue let out a snort and shook her head, agreeing.

Owen lifted his arms and held up his hands. "Okay, okay, okay. We've got a limited window of time here. We need to stop and get down to work. Because they..." He pointed at the twins without looking. "Refuse to listen to anyone but you!" He pointed at Zach.

"It's not my fault!" Zach snapped, throwing up his arms. "I didn't mean for them to imprint on me so much!"

"Well they did and now we need to fix this!"

"Fine!" Zach moved away from where Echo was by the fence and look at the two very large adolescent dinosaurs. "You two, listen up!" He said, pointed at them through the fence.

 **-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-**

The training lesson lasted the rest of the day. They didn't even stop to eat. Instead, Owen called and had food delivered for both the humans and the dinosaurs. A bit of wrestling resulted, over who got the biggest piece even thought it was all measured pretty even. Zach scolded and Owen laughed. Then they went back to training and didn't stop until the twins were tripping over each other. And at one point, Minnie almost rolled over Delta.

Zach stepped back, staring at them. He scratched at the back of his head. "Uh... I guess it is late." He glanced up at the sky and it was darkening fast. He had realized how tired he was as well. He pressed closer to the fence. He suddenly stifled a yawn and waved at them. "Okay, okay. We're done." Indigo and Minnie immediately dropped to the ground and curled up with each other. Minnie yawned, opening her mouth wide. Zach backed up a step and bumped into Owen.

Owen grabbed Zach's arms and squeezed. He leaned forward to whisper on the opposite side of the microphone headset, "Freaky, right?"

Zach nodded his head quickly. He had to remind himself that despite how much they looked like Ida, they weren't her. They hadn't snapped at him and chased him and tried to eat him a year ago. But for a moment, he was glad there was a very thick and strong fence between them. Zach swallowed and cleared his throat. "Yes, right. Night time... you two..."

Echo suddenly bounced around and wiggled in front of Zach, between the twins and the fence. She let out a chirp and tilted her head.

Zach was still mindful of the headset and microphone. "What do you think she wants?" He asked.

Owen shrugged, like he didn't understand her, and stepped around Zach, leaning against the fence beside him. "Maybe a bedtime song?"

Zach rolled his eyes. He knew he would regret doing just the same a few times over the phone with the twins. "Fine. But just one." He lifted his hand to his mouth, attempting to stifle a yawn. "Because it is bedtime for everyone here."

Echo nodded her head and wiggled excitedly. Then she turned and bounced over to the twins. She pushed herself between them and curled up.

Owen crossed his arms and shook his head. "Not even going to ask. Just going to assume you can sleep here." The other raptors ignored him as they joined the large sleeping pile.

Zach watched them for a moment and smiled. Delta was already asleep, snoring on top of the twins. He shook his head and smiled. He started humming the tune to Itsy Bitsy Spider as loud as he could. Owen joined in. "The isty baby Echo jumped down off the bed." Zach sang softly as Owen continued to hum. "Charlie cried cuz she thought she bumped her head. Blue was mad cuz Echo didn't listen. Alpha picked her up and put her on the bed and the next time she jumped, she did bump her head."

They sang it a few more times until only Blue was left awake. They bid the beta raptor goodnight and she nodded her head. Then they quietly left. Both yawned as they removed their headsets and dropped them off inside. "That was a good one." Owen said with a smile. "You're good at that."

Zach smiled and let out a laugh. "Was better than the first one I did."

Owen cleared his throat and started singing. "It's raining. It's pouring. Old Rexy is roaring. She snapped her jaws and Moe came up. Ida is toast by the morning." He sang to the tune of the old nursery rhyme.

Zach nodded his head. "Yeah, a little morbid to sing about their mom dying."

Owen bumped against him. "You're their mom." He said softly as they walked outside, towards the parking lot.


	7. Prediction

I AM SCATTERBRAINED! ENJOY!

 **Raptor Heart  
Periphery  
Chapter 7: Prediction  
**

All too soon, it felt like, he was opening his eyes. He still felt so tired, like he'd just fallen asleep. The 9 hour ferry ride had taken a lot out of him. And then with the brief reunion and immediately jumping head first right into training, he hadn't actually gotten to take a break, of any sort. It had been go, go, go. And any thoughts of engaging in dalliances of any sort were completely forgotten the moment he'd gotten in the jeep, after leaving the twins. He'd actually fallen asleep as Owen drove them to the bungalow.

"Zach." Owen had whispered and reached over to gently prod him in the shoulder.

Zach had groaned and swatted him away. "No."

Owen had let out a laugh. "Come on, we're home."

Zach had groaned more when Owen had pulled the passenger door open and then preceded to lift him out of the car. Zach flailed and fumbled until Owen put him back down with a laugh. Zach glared and crossed his arms and pouted. He yawned and paid no attention to anything except Owen's ass as he followed up the stairs and into the bungalow. It was too dark to see much of anything else anyways. Owen flipped on the lights and Zach actually hissed and closed his eyes. "Too bright."

"Baby." Owen rolled his eyes and shook his head. But he'd smiled and pointed down at Zach's mysteriously appearing luggage.

Zach hadn't questioned it. Just like he hadn't questioned when Owen said he was bunking in the bungalow. Hotels make mistakes and overbook. And he was perfectly happy to be kicked out of his room and to be told he was staying with Owen. Honestly, that was pretty much his plan anyways. As Owen had said, it made sense. Same schedule and blah, blah, whatever the fuck Owen had said. Zach was entirely too tired to really remember. He simply grabbed Owen by his shirt and hauled him towards the bedroom.

Zach snuggled harder against the pillow under his head. If he kept his eyes closed, maybe it wouldn't be morning. Maybe he could just lay there, all day, with Owen pressed against his back. Because yeah, that hadn't exactly escaped his mind. Owen was pressed very tight against him, with his arms around him. It was everything Zach had ever dreamed of over the last year and everything he wanted when he was sleeping alone in that very bed last year. Well, not _everything_. Owen had said no to _that_ aspect of their relationship. It... was... so... frustrating! But damnit, if all Owen would allow him was spooning in bed, then he'd gladly except it. _Grudgingly._

Owen tightened his grip around Zach and tucked his chin in the crook of his neck. "Wakey wakey." He whispered.

Zach let out a groan and shook his head. "Nooooooo." He whined out. "One more hour."

Owen let out a laugh (and fuck everything because Zach could feel the man laughing at him and feel his breath on his neck and ugh!) and pulled away. "No such luck, princess." He shook his head. "Early schedule, remember. Gotta get to the paddock and feed the girls."

Zach groaned again. "Fine, fine, FINE!" He snapped and rolled over on his back as best he could. Owen still had his arms around Zach and that was perfectly fine with him. "You stink."

Owen smiled widely. "You do, too, sweetheart."

Zach wrinkled his nose and nodded. "Yeeeeeeeah." He strung out the word. Zach had been rather impatient and overly tired. He hadn't cared last night. He just wanted to sleep! Taking time to fish out pajamas or shower just didn't occur to him. And if it had to Owen, well, Zach didn't remember or just didn't care. "We need to shower."

Owen pulled away and sat up. "You go first. I'll make coffee and some protein shakes."

Zach wrinkled his nose again. "Seriously?"

"Quick easy breakfast." He explained. "Most important meal of the day and starting out right is important."

Zach stared. "Saying important twice in the same sentence is redundant."

Owen slapped Zach on the shoulder and jumped up. "Just get ready. Don't got a lot of time. And go easy on the hot water. Tank is tiny."

Zach sat up. "We could save time and water if we showered together."

Owen's eyebrow piqued. "Just go." He said, tightlipped.

Zach sighed and pouted.

Owen slipped out of the room, practically bolting the moment Zach looked away. He paused for a moment and breathed out. _Damn_. That kid was going to destroy him. Last night had been hard enough. It had tested all his resolve. Maybe it had been a bad idea to have him there, sleeping in his bed with him. No, scratch that. It was a _very_ bad idea. Because he wanted to devour every inch of Zach. He wanted to make the kid purr and scream his name. He wanted to leave his own marks on Zach, on every inch of him. Owen touched his hand to the mark on his neck and he felt like his whole body was on fire. His lips curled in an involuntary growl and yeah, he had to agree with his inner self. He scabbed over abrasion was really hot and he hoped it left a scar.

He breathed out, shook himself, and adjusted the very obvious stiffy in his shorts. He didn't need to warn Zach against using all the hot water. Because Owen needed a very _cold_ shower. He rubbed his hand over his face. Thinking about Zach in the shower was another bad idea and wasn't helping him any. "Alright..." He breathed out slowly. "Vic Hoskins in a bikini." He whispered to himself. He forced the image into his mind and he grimaced and shivered. Yeah, that'll work. He reached for the coffee pot.

Zach showered quickly and wrapped a towel loosely around his waist. He tried to get Owen's attention as he grabbed his suitcase but the man was clearly refusing to acknowledge him. Zach rolled his eyes, grabbed his stuff, and headed into the bedroom. He dressed quickly and headed back out. Owen was in the shower and for a second, Zach thought about sneaking in on him. He wouldn't, of course. But it was fun to imagine.

10 minutes later and they were ready to go. Owen had to practically force the protein shake down Zach's throat. Zach had made faces and said it was gross and Owen had glared and told him to drink it. It actually wasn't that bad. Zach was just enjoying teasing the man. "Zach, we have to go. NOW!" Owen snapped.

"Okay, okay!" Zach finished the shake and waved the cup in the air. "See? All gone, mommy." He set the cup down on the counter.

Owen breathed out and shook his head. "Just come on. And close your eyes."

Zach frowned and tilted his head. "Close my eyes?" He repeated.

Owen nodded. "Yeah, got a surprise for ya."

"Outside." Zach said, stepping closer. "What is it?"

"Just close your eyes!" Owen insisted. Zach tried to bicker a bit more but Owen grabbed his hand and pulled the door open. "We need to hurry up so just close your eyes!"

"Fine!" Zach closed his eyes. "But if I trip down the stairs, you cannot tell the raptors! Because it's _your_ fault!"

Owen held tightly onto Zach and walked him down the stairs. Then a few steps away from the bungalow. It was still rather early. The sun had just started to rise. It poked up just enough over the horizon that they could see. Owen spun them around and threw up his arms. "Tada!" He announced loudly.

Zach opened his eyes and frowned. "Tada what? It's just the..." He sucked in a breath and held it as he gazed out. The Bungalow was still before him. It still sat there as it had the last time he'd seen it, when he was forced to leave the island too early. It didn't look any different, as if no time had passed. What was different, however, was the structure just behind it. It had been too dark last night. He hadn't noticed anything different. But he'd just been so tired! Even if the sun had been up or Owen had installed stadium lights and pointed them at the foreign structure, Zach still doubted he would have noticed it. It was taller than the bungalow and wider. Zach tilted his head and frowned as he walked towards it. "What is that?" Owen didn't answer. He simply smiled and shoved his hands in his pockets. He quickly caught up with Zach and fell in step with him. Once they had walked around the bungalow, Zach got a better view of the building behind it.

"It's not done yet." Owen said quickly before Zach even had time to process what he was seeing. "It'll take me a few more months." He continued. "Maybe even a year. But I'll definitely be done by the time you've graduated college." He crossed his arms and tilted his head. "Maybe." He added.

It was a house, still in the very early stages. The frame was there, part of the walls and flooring, too. But it still needed a lot of work. Owen was building him a house. _Them._ Zach would have been fine in the tiny bungalow. He would have called it home, despite the small size. The _very_ small size. He hadn't really let himself think about the logistics of trying to move in permanently. It seemed so far in the future. Zach's mouth dropped open. "You're building a house." He finally said. He felt conflicted. Owen had lived in the bungalow for years and suddenly here Zach came, all whiney and shit, and Owen felt like he had to change. Zach turned towards him. "Why? You didn't have to!"

Owen frowned and dropped his arms. "I know. I wanted to." He said. "I've actually been thinking about it for a while. The bungalow served its purpose in the beginning. I wanted something isolated and tiny, to keep the raptors to myself until I was sure they would bond with me and survive. But once they were too big, it kinda sucked not having them here. And it made it feel... less like home."

Zach looked away, still not convinced. He just felt this weird, sinking feeling in the pit of his stomach. He bit his lip and breathed out.

Owen reached for his hand slowly and when Zach didn't pull away, he tightened his grip. "If you don't like it, you can be honest. I can show you the floor plan. We can make changes or scrap it all together. Whatever you want."

Zach wasn't even sure why he was suddenly so full of self doubt. Again.

"Zach..."

Zach shook his head. "I don't need this." He said softly and dropped his gaze to the ground. He didn't. He didn't need a fancy place to live to be happy. He only needed Owen. He was just having trouble actually saying the words. They felt heavy on his tongue.

Owen breathed out a sigh and let go of Zach's hand. He ran a hand through his hair and scratched at the back of his neck. He was thoroughly confused. "Okay, look. I was pretty upfront about all of this." He said softly. "I believe my exact words were _this is forever_ , Zach. And I meant it. You, me, forever. And you know I can't leave the island. I thought... I thought you knew that... you were okay with that... but if you aren't..."

Zach's eyes widened and he spun around. He shook his head. "No, no, no! This is what I want! This place! This island, the girls, the twins... _you_. I just... I want _you_ , Owen. I need you." He stressed. "That's all I need to be happy. I don't need a big fancy house."

Owen breathed out and smiled, looking like a weight was lifted. "You have me, Zach. A house's not changing that."

"But... are you just doing it because of me? Because you think I can't handle living in a tiny trailer and being outdoorsy and shit. Because I did it just fine last year, by myself, for a few months!"

Owen let out a laugh and held up his hands. "You are blowing this all out of proportion, sweetheart. There was literally no ulterior motive to any of this! I don't need a big house. But I don't need the bungalow, either. I would be just as happy, living with you in the employee housing building. And I've lived there before. It's barely bigger than the bungalow. But they've got some two bedroom places, with more storage and shit. But none of the girls could come."

Zach shook his head quickly. "Oh no. That I refuse to do."

Owen smiled again. "Or we could live in a tent, back near the gate to the raptor paddock. But I kinda think that would be uncomfortable. But I would do it."

Zach rolled his eyes and shook his head. "No."

"I just need you, Zach."

Zach sighed and looked away again. "Are you sure?"

"YES!" It came out in more of a growl than he had meant it to and he sighed and shook his head. "Sorry. I shouldn't have sprung this all up on you. I should have told you when I started making the plans. That wasn't fair. I keep saying us and forever and then I exclude you in an important life decision."

Zach hung his head a bit and shrugged. "I'm sorry. It's fine. The house is fine."

Owen blinked. "Fine? Just fine? Dude! I'm building a fucking house, all by myself! It's more than fine, it's pretty damn awesome." He said, trying to lighten the mood. The house wasn't honestly that important to him. If Zach didn't like it, then that was fine. He shrugged and shoved his hands in his pockets. "Honestly though, if you don't like it, that's cool. Can just scrap it."

Zach really didn't know what he wanted. He didn't know why seeing the house set him off. He wasn't entirely sure what he was feeling. Or why. He looked over at it.

"And it's not really fancy." Owen continued on. "No indoor swimming pool or gym or skylights. Just normal house stuff. A living room that could fit both a couch and a nest and not end up with a broken TV, a kitchen with actual room to move and cook and a table to sit at, a bathroom where the sink and toilet aren' pretty much on top of each other and with room for a real tub, a bedroom that wasn't simply a giant bed. Just... space, you know? Kinda tired of having no space. And while I would love to spend the rest of my life with you and no space... I would prefer you and more space..." He stopped and shook his head. "That came out wrong. I mean you and space... not space from you... just... more space..."

Zach was hardly listening to Owen anymore. The man was fumbling over himself and rambling and it was cute. But his attention was on something he noticed beside the house. He tilted his head and started walking towards it. It looked like a giant hole in the ground, bigger than the bungalow. Owen stopped his rambling and hurried to catch up. Zach pointed to it. "So outdoor pool then?"

Owen let out a laugh and shook his head. "No, I didn't do that."

"Who did?"

"You started it." Owen said with a smile. "When you made a nest for them."

Zach's eyes widened. "The twins did that?"

Owen nodded his head. "Yeah, like a month ago. I told them they couldn't fit inside the house to sleep. So they dug themselves a hole and said they would sleep beside the house."

"Okay." Zach breathed out and turned towards Owen. "I changed my mind. I love the house!"

Owen smiled widely. "Awesome! Now, we really gotta go."

 **-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-**

"Tony! Exactly _where_ are you?"

The man in question smiled and touched his ear piece as his red and gold suit dissolved around him. He was standing on the private airstrip, in the restricted part of the island. He'd just landed, opting to take his new nannotech suit out for a test run instead of a more normal way of travel, like ferry or jet. "Just out playing hookie for a bit. Don't worry. I'll be home for dinner, honey."

"Tony..." The man on the line breathed out loudly.

"Everything's fine." He added quickly, knowing his boyfriend would worry. Although, his boyfriend would always worry. It was just in his nature to worry. Just like it was in Tony's nature to do things worth worrying over. It was just their thing. "Just checking out my new island."

There was a sigh over the line. "You didn't really buy an island, did you?"

"Yes." Tony answered flatly. "But not this one. Simon won't let me." Tony had tried, countless times, over the last few years. Honestly, since the first time Simon had told him. They'd been friends forever, practically since birth. Their fathers had met while Howard Stark was in England for a conference. Stephen Masrani had attended the same conference and they happened across each other in the lobby. They became fast friends, stating that, "Eccentric billionaires should stick together." And the same had been instilled in their sons. Neither actually had time in their adult lives for friendships. Tony had his company and superhero gig. Simon had his company and his dino gig.

And Tony had tried at every turn to get his fingers into the dino gig. Simon had let him be an investor and the Avenger had lifetime season passes. But, as always, Tony wanted more. He wanted in on everything and it drove him crazy that Simon always shot him down. "Just let me buy the whole place." He said last year, after the mutant dinosaur attack. "I can change the name to Jurassic Stark!"

Simon had glared at him over the video call. "No." He said flatly.

"Come on!" Tony had begged. "I can help fix everything."

"No." Simon had turned him down again. "We got it all covered."

"Covered? Really?" Tony had asked dryly. "Is that why you didn't call me when she first escaped?"

Simon had sighed. "One, we really did think we had it handled. It wasn't the first time there was a breach. But what that man created... it wasn't a dinosaur, it was a monster. We didn't have time to realize it until it was too late." He said gravely. "Plus... weren't you off planet then?"

"Tony..." Steve said his name loudly, trying to get his attention.

Tony blinked and shook his head. "Come on, Cap!" He whined loudly. "I need this!"

"You do not need this." Steve said sensibly. "That place is dangerous."

Tony paused for exactly 30 seconds before he replied. "Seriously? Did you just call this place _dangerous_? Seriously?!"

"Yes, Tony."

Tony shook his head. "Cap, of everything we've done over the last few years, this is like the least dangerous thing, of anything I've ever done. _Ever_."

"Tony, I don't doubt..."

" _Ever_ , Cap." Tony insisted. "There's so much crazy shit I never told you about."

Steve sighed deeply over the phone again. "Tony..."

Tony tilted his head, thinking fast. He needed another tactic. "Come on! Baby dinos are way cuter than puppies." He pulled out his phone and sent off a dozen pictures he'd hacked from the website. "Seriously! Look at that little face!"

"Yes, Tony." Steve said flatly after a moment. "The baby triceratops is cute."

"I sooo totally should have won that contest, too!" Tony grumbled out.

"What contest?" Steve asked, sounding confused.

"The naming contest!" Tony said, throwing up his arms animatedly, despite still being alone on the tarmac. "To name the baby trike."

"Oh, that." Steve said dismissively. He'd heard Tony ramble on about the contest for weeks. "I thought that wasn't being announced for a few more days."

"Yeah, no." Tony shook his head. "It's not. Not till the end of the week."

"Tony." There was a warning tone in Steve's voice.

Tony squinted in the bright sun as a car appeared on the tarmac. "I may have hacked into their system to see who the finalists were." That was exactly what he had been doing when Steve had called him. He'd been curious and couldn't wait to find out the winner.

"Tony!"

"They're not even picking names off merit or creativity!" Tony scoffed loudly. "It was a random draw!"

"So?"

"So? So! The winning name was Ivy! IVY!" He practically sneered the name. "How dumb is that?"

"Ivy's a fine name."

Tony blinked and his mouth tightened. "No it's not."

"It's better than Iron Maiden."

Tony narrowed his eyes and turned his back on the approaching car. "Oh no it's not."

"Tony, you are no longer authorized to name things." Steve said in his Captain's voice. " _Anything_ thing. _Ever_ again."

Tony frowned. "You're banning me from naming things?"

"Yes." Steve said. "You've lost the right to name anything."

"What the hell?"

"You have a cat named Dickhead."

Tony paused for a moment. He tilted his head. "Correction. _We_ have a cat named Dickhead. You're the mom."

Steve sighed again. "Tony..."

"Mr. Stark!"

He turned and smiled at her as she stepped out of her car. "Miss Dearing!" He nodded his head and touched his ear piece. "Later, honey."

Claire shut the door and paused. "Am I interrupting an important call?"

Tony shook his head. "No. Just the old balls and chain."

She cocked an eyebrow and nodded. "Colorful." She said dryly and stepped forward. "We were expecting you much later, Mr. Stark. _Much_ Later." She repeated.

"Call me Tony." He said with a smile. "Or Iron Man. That'll work, too."

She nodded curtly. "Yes. Anyways, I assume you didn't arrive as scheduled because you opted for a different mode of transportation."

He smiled. "You saw me, didn't you?"

"I see everything on this island, Mr. Stark." She said dryly. "I know everything that happens."

Tony nodded quickly. "I don't doubt it."

She nodded. "Now ... if you'll follow me."

Tony stammered for a moment. "Uh... see... I would be glad to, would love to." He smiled, stepping closer and waving his arms. "But actually, when my dearest called me, I was right in the middle of something very important. And then you interrupted that interruption so I have a very important phone call I need to make." He said quickly. "To... Thor..." He added more slowly. "... about... the... penguin..."

Claire stared at him in silence for a moment, trying to gauge if he was being serious or not. Where Tony Stark was concerned, she honestly had no clue.

"I can just meet you there." He added.

Her eyes narrowed for a moment. "You have 10 minutes. We have a schedule to keep."

His mouth dropped open. "You just said I'm ahead of schedule!"

"You are." She nodded. "So I've adjusted our schedule."

"Oh come on..."

"Mr. Stark, you have 10 minutes. You will meet me at control then." She turned without waiting for a response and got back into her car.

Tony watched until she drove out of view. Then he shook his head and pulled out his phone. He didn't care what Steve said. Ivy was a stupid name and Tony deserved to name the adorable little baby trike. If it was just a random draw, no one would notice him hacking in and changing the outcome. Just a few minutes and he would be the winner. Tony pulled out his phone and started.

"Sir, it really is in poor taste to rig the contest." Jarvis' voice rang in Tony's ears.

Tony rolled his eyes. "The name they chose was in poor taste." He spent the next several minutes hacking through the Jurassic World servers again. He forgot all about the baby naming contest when he accidently clicked on a private server. Confiscated files of the deceased doctor. A few he'd seen, made public during the trials. But... Tony's eyes widened. "What the fuck?"

 **-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-**

 **Author's Notes:** This chapter's outline got so long, that I decided to cut it into 2 chapters. And then it go LONGER so now it's 3 chapters. And then the last scene got OMFG SO MUCH LONGER, that it's now it's own chapter (next chapter) and this whole thing is a mess.


	8. Panoramic

HERE YOU GO AME!

 **Raptor Heart  
Periphery  
Chapter 8: Panoramic  
**

His hands shook as he gripped the railing of the small, private yet. They'd just landed and he was feeling claustrophobic inside the tiny cabin. He took a moment, trying to steady himself. A deep breath in and exhale it out. Over 20 years. It had been over 20 _years_ since he first set foot on the island. Could that be right? It seemed like a life time ago. A completely different life, before he knew exactly what it felt like to be hunted by a velociraptor or how fast a t-rex could run when following a vehicle or the exact consistency of brachiosaurus snot. And then the second time, when he got tricked into the fake aerial tour guide job of the second island that once again landed him in the path of many teeth. So many teeth. He suppressed a shiver and closed his eyes. No, he couldn't do this.

"Alan." A comforting hand grabbed his and another was on his lower back, anchoring him. "You're okay." The voice whispered in his ear. "I got you."

Alan smiled and leaned back against the younger man. Billy was the reason he was there. Billy was his reason for everything. Ever since the park had rebranded and reopened as Jurassic World, Billy had wanted to go. Alan didn't. And he emphatically let Billy know that at every chance he got. Their experience at Isla Sorna hadn't dampened Billy's attitude towards dinosaurs as it had Alan. Billy always joked that it was because it had happened to Alan twice, while Billy had only been on a dino infested island once. So Billy had to go a second time and Alan had to go with him to save him again. Alan always smacked Billy in the back of the head. "You're never getting me within a 100 miles of either island ever again."

But Billy had been persistent and wore Alan down. And for their anniversary last year, Alan had bought tickets to surprise his husband. But then the park had closed due to a mishap with an illegally made super dinosaur that left 18 dead and a few hundred injured. Alan hadn't exactly believed all the news reports, stating the whole thing was due to a mentally unstable doctor with a God complex. Alan had met Henry Wu and while he hadn't exactly liked the man and his cavalier attitude towards the dinosaurs he created, it just seemed fishy to him to blame the entire situation on one man who had been killed. But, Billy had argued, the record had been flawless up until the single, isolated incident. And several confiscated files and documents had lead to evidence against Wu working on the dinosaur in complete secrecy and he neglected to take the creature's wellbeing into consideration. Words like gross negligence and cruelty were thrown around. An interview with one of the island's trainers had been pretty damning, stating, "Her only relationship was with that feeding crane. And if you saw that paddock she was in... man... I wonder why she didn't go crazy long before that."

In the end, the Masrani Corporation had several excellent lawyers and the fault had been placed solely on the deceased doctor. And Alan hadn't liked the sound of any of it. But more safety and regulations were promised and the park was allowed to reopen. And now here he was, on a tiny private jet, a personal guest of Simon Masrani, and there was no going back. Two more steps and he'd have to set foot on the tarmac. And he'd be on the island again. For the love of everything, _he was going to be on the island again!_ What was he thinking? He was insane for coming back! He was insane for even _thinking_ about it! After everything, he was completely and utterly insane! He had let Billy talk him into it! Billy could always talk him into whatever the younger man wanted! All he had to do was smile and Alan went weak in the knees and gave Billy whatever he wanted. Even after 15 years together.

Across the tarmac, a second tiny jet had landed and began to unload. The door opened and Ian Malcolm walked down the steps without any hesitation. He made a show of stomping his feet on the tarmac. He inhaled deeply and threw up his arms. His eyes settled on the other small plane and his eyes widened. He let out a loud, booming laugh. "Well I'll be..." He lifted his hand and waved. "Alan Grant. Said you rather die than set foot back here." He called out loudly as he walked towards them.

Alan glared at his old friend. Friend was a term he used loosely. Alan still found the man pompous and annoying, even after all the years. Probably more so, actually. "Ain't convinced I'm not dead." He snapped out. "Pretty sure I died on the way over. Only way to make sense of what's happening."

Ian raised an eyebrow. "Dramatic."

"Very." Billy laughed lightly as he squeezed passed Alan. The flight over had been fine. Alan might have held his hand a bit too tight and might have rubbed it the moment Alan finally let go, but he didn't really mind. He placed a quick kiss on the older man's cheek and then jumped the last couple steps to the asphalt. He spun around and threw up his arms. "See? Easy. And I didn't die." He said with a cocky smile.

Ian stepped closer, moving to stand just behind Billy. "Stop being a baby and get down off the ramp."

Billy held out his hand. "Allow me." He said with smile. Alan rolled his eyes but put his hand in Billy's. The smile on the younger man's face only seemed to widen. He lifted Alan's hand to his lips and kissed the knuckles gently.

Behind them, Ian made a gagging motion and scoffed. "Get a room."

Alan glared at him and opened his mouth but Billy cut him off. "He's just jealous." He said, glancing over his shoulder at Ian. "Can't get it up anymore."

Ian opened his mouth but was silenced by a shriek from the jet behind him. He spun around and all three men looked as two tiny kids were suddenly flying down the ramp and across the tarmac towards Ian. The little boy flung himself at Ian and wrapped his arms around his leg. His bottom lip popped out and he attempted to hide. "Daria bit me!" He whined.

The little girl stopped and shook her head. She stamped her foot and her tiny fists balled at her sides. "No I didn't! It was the t-rex!

He poked his head out and glared at her. "You were the t-rex!"

Ian rolled his eyes and bent down to attempt to pry the 4 year off his leg. "Jason, let go. Daria, no biting your brother."

Alan's eyes widened as he finally stepped down off the ramp, momentarily forgetting his deep-seated fears. "Oh my god." He gasped lowly. "He reproduced again."

Billy nodded slowly. "I uh... I guess he can get it up." He whispered.

"He can also hear you!" Ian snapped loudly. "These hellions aren't mine!"

"Dad!" Kelly was suddenly behind him, as if appearing from nowhere. They hadn't seen or heard her exiting the jet and walking towards them. She was just _there_. She crossed her arms and glared at her dad. "I know you did _not_ just call my kids a bad word!"

"He did, mom!" Jason poked his head out.

Daria nodded. "He said heck!"

"Uh huh." Kelly glared for a moment longer. "We're gonna go figure out where we're supposed to go. Come on." She waved the twins forward, grabbed a hand of each, and pulled them along, across the tarmac. The airstrip was large enough to fit both small jets without problem. One had landed while the other was stationary. At the end was a small building and a few park jeeps. That's where Kelly was headed.

Alan sucked in a breath as his eyes settled on the line of jeeps. "Last time I got in one of those, it did not end well."

"I remember." Ian muttered. "I was there."

Billy shrugged. "I've never been in one."

"Shut up, Billy!" Alan and Ian both said at the same time.

Billy let out a laugh and then breathed out and smiled. His eyes were still following Kelly and her kids. Alan didn't miss the look. "You uh... ever regret... not having kids?" He asked, the question coming out awkward and clipped.

"You can't..." Ian started.

"Private conversation." Alan snapped quickly, interrupting him. "I wasn't talking to you."

Ian shrugged. "I'm here. Isn't exactly private."

Alan glared at him again before looking at Billy. He wished he hadn't asked. It had been a fear of his for years, something they hadn't really ever talked about. Billy was a great deal younger than him. Honestly, Alan wasn't exactly sure what Billy saw in him. After their brush with the Isla Sorna wildlife, they just kind of fell together. Alan always thought that maybe it was just adrenaline and fear that drove them that first time. He was certain when it wore off, they'd realized they'd made a mistake. But it still hadn't. They were still together. And Alan still had the fear.

Billy smiled and shook his head. "Alan, you hate kids." It wasn't exactly an answer.

Alan shook his head and looked away. "No... I don't hate kids... they hate me."

Billy rolled his eyes and shook his head. "Kids love you, Alan."

"I know." Alan whined. "I hate kids." He grumbled out.

Billy let out a laugh.

The next down off the jet was Sarah, followed by a pouty looking teenage boy. She paused, turned, and smacked the boy in the back of the head.

"Ow, mom!"

"Lucas, I'm not in the mood." Sarah snapped. "Go help your sister with the twins." She watched him stomp off and she glared. "Boy, I will smack you again!" She called after him.

"I don't want to get on her bad side." Alan whispered.

Ian shook his head. "Yeah, I don't either."

Sarah threatened her son again before he ran off to join his sister. Then she joined the group of men. She smiled and apologized for Lucas. "He's at the horrible teen age where he doesn't want to do anything but wear his headphones and blare music and everything is the end of the world."

Ian nodded his head. "It's wonderful reproducing." He said dryly.

The last to join them was Ellie. She'd come alone and had ridden with Alan and Billy. She smiled and waved as she joined them. She was younger than Alan, but the past year had aged her and she looked tired. But she still smiled warmly at the group. Sarah stepped closer to her. She lowered her voice and tilted her head. "How are you doing, Ellie?"

Ian elbowed his wife. "Don't say it like that!" He hissed lowly.

Sarah glanced over her shoulder at him. "Like what?"

Ellie let out a laugh and patted Sarah on the shoulder. "It's fine." She said softly. "It's been almost a year since Mark's heart attack." She paused and looked away. "It's still hard, but we take it one day at a time." She breathed out and looked back. "Charlie's been doing really good in college." She said, changing the subject. "He got a special internship for the summer so he couldn't make it."

"That's good." Sarah said with a nod. "Tell him we missed him."

The old friends chatted idly. It was still early in the day and none of them were in any real hurry. In fact, they had made great time, the skies were clear, and had arrived a bit ahead of schedule. One of the pilots received a call from the control staff after they had landed, informing them that Miss Dearing would be there as soon as she was free to escort them to the park. So they all caught up on what they were doing since they last got together. Sarah was a visiting professor, giving lectures on various habits of dinosaurs in several different colleges across the country. Ian was on his 11th book, this one an autobiography, chronicling his whole life.

"It may end up a trilogy." He explained. "The years before the dinos, then the two trips to the islands, and then everything after."

Alan rolled his eyes. "People only want to know about the dino part. No one cares about the rest of your boring, chaos-theory filled life."

Ian glared at him. "Like anyone would want to read about your boring life of dino digging."

Alan shrugged. "I have no interest in writing an autobiography." Alan and Billy had continued with their dig site when they returned from Isla Sorna. And in the years since, have traveled the world, continuing to dig up bones.

A few minutes later an unknown vehicle pulled up onto the tarmac. The group turned to look at it, all of them curious as to what exactly it was. It drove towards them and pulled to a stop a few feet away. It was a park jeep pulling a series of train cars behind it. They were all painted with the same design. The tram was used to drive people from the airstrip to the park and sometimes around the park, on guided tours. It was a flashy gimmick, something new. The monorail was still the fastest way to get around the island but the tram was slowly gaining in popularity.

Claire stepped out of the jeep and shut the door. She smiled and opened her mouth, intending on greeting her group of visitors. But she was cut off by an excited squeal. Tim Murphy actually jumped from the passenger seat and he waved wildly. "Uncle Alan!" He ran towards them, completely forgetting about the bewildered looking Claire. He had begged her to come when he found out who was arriving that day. Claire had tried to dissuade him but she hadn't had any luck.

Alan frowned and shook his head. "You're not mine, kid." Tim let out a laugh and threw his arms around the older man. Alan stiffened immediately and everyone around them laughed.

Claire stepped closer, recovering quickly and smiling. "I'm so sorry for being late. We've had a busy morning with a few other guests... _surprising_ us..." She added under her breath.

"It's quite all right." Sarah said with a smile.

Claire opened her mouth but was silenced when her phone went off. "Phone call. Excuse me." She stepped away, pulling the device out of her pocket.

Tim smiled widely and tilted his head. "She does that a lot. You get used to it."

Ellie smiled and stepped closer to him. "I just can't get over how big you've gotten!" She reached up to pinch his cheek and he ducked away and flailed his arms. She just laughed. "I heard you're in charge of the genetics lab."

Ian snorted and crossed his arms. "Hopefully you do a better job of _not_ making killing machines."

Ellie glared at him. "Oh shut up, Ian!"

Claire returned a moment later. She eyed Tim's blushing face and frowned. Tim quickly straightened up and looked away. "Yes... well." She cleared her throat and turned towards Ian and Sarah. "I've just been informed that your daughter has stolen a park jeep."

Ian frowned and tilted his head. "My daughter? Kelly?"

Claire nodded her head. "She hotwired it."

Sarah glanced around, frowning. "She was just here. I told Lucas to help her with the twins."

"No way she could hotwire a jeep without us noticing." Ian shook his head.

Sarah shrugged. "She is your daughter."

Billy pulled out his phone, checking the time. "It's been at least 40 minutes since we landed."

Ellie's eyes widened. "Have we been standing around talking for that long?"

Alan nodded his head and wavered a bit on his feet for a moment. "We definitely have. My knees are killing me."

Ian let out a laugh. "We better let the old man sit down."

Alan glared at him and pointed. "At least I didn't have to have my hip replaced."

"At least I ain't 70!" Ian countered.

"I'm 65!" Alan snapped.

Bill shrugged. "70 is the new 50."

Ian rolled his eyes. "Says the baby."

Billy glared at him. "I'm 44!"

"You're only proving my point." Ian said with a smile. "Alan likes them young. Yoooooooung." He repeated, stretching the word out obscenely long. He glanced at Tim. "Wasn't your sister in love with him?"

Tim nodded his head. "Yeah, she had a crush on him for a while."

"I rest my case." Ian nodded.

"She was 13!" Alan argued. "And it was ridiculous!"

Ellie let out a laugh and nodded her head. "Oh yeah, I'd forgotten about that. It was so cute! She was hanging all over you, the whole time."

Ian was still smiling widely. "Tim, she's what... 34, 35 now?"

Tim nodded his head. "Yes."

Ian glanced at Billy. "Billy, looks like you have competition."

"I have a cane with our luggage." Alan said. "I will smack you with it."

"Okay, okay, okay." Claire stepped in between the group and held up her hands. "Can you guys please continue this fight on the tram at least? We've got a schedule to keep and we need to get your guys checked into your hotel rooms."

"This ain't over." Ian said.

"That's it! Billy, get my cane!"

"TRAM! NOW! PLEASE!"

 **-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-**

 **Author's Notes:** I love the JP crew so much. I grew up with those movies. I remember seeing the 3rd one in the movie theater with a group of friends for my 16th birthday. It will always have a special place in my heart! I always wanted to bring the JP peeps into the Raptorverse. Tim wormed his way in. So while this is 95% fanservice for Ame, who's been begging me to watch JP3 and love the ship of Alan/Billy, it's also what I sorta planned anyways. Also I totally see the Alan/Billy now and am newly obsessed. 8D


	9. Protract

Hey look! I'm still alive and healthy! Well, as healthy as I was before anyways. I hope you all are, too! So sorry this has taken so long. So much has happened over the past couple months. Depression, getting transferred at work, more depression, my mom taking over my computer so she can work from home, even more depression. You get the gist. I'm really trying to get on track and keep writing. But each day, things are changing, for work and for the state I live in. Which is Ohio. And I work at a gas station. So it's a lot of stress and when I get home, I just want to collapse and sleep. And then on my days off, my mom's on my computer. So it just doesn't leave a lot of time for _ME_ , you know? Anyways, here you go. A chapter. I hope you enjoy! I think I was getting a big stuck on world building stuff. But oh well!

 **Raptor Heart  
Periphery  
Chapter 9: Protract  
**

She closed her eyes and rubbed at her forehead. The pounding was getting steadily worse as the seconds ticked by. She wished she had something to take the edge off. But she wasn't really prone to headaches. She couldn't remember the last time she had one but she knew in her entire life she could count them on her one hand. She didn't carry pills around with her on a regular basis. She wasn't entirely sure she even had anything to take at home. But at that exact moment, she regretted not filling her pockets with pain pills when she left that morning.

"Better not be next to my room with all those whiney brats!"

"And you say you don't hate kids." A loud laugh followed. "Your ugly mug would scare my grandkids."

"Billy, if you don't give me back my cane right now..."

The jeers, taunts, laughs, and fights hadn't stopped when the group boarded the tram. It hadn't stopped during the ride to the hotel. It continued during check-in and into the large elevator. Tim had been called back to his lab when they arrived at the hotel and that meant she was left alone. With the group. For a second, she considered taking the stairs to just get away from them. But she feared the group might actually kill each other if left alone. Getting on that elevator had been one of the biggest mistakes of her life. "Will you all _please_ just shut up and behave like civilized adults?" She snapped, unable to control herself.

They were all stunned into silence and stared at her blankly.

She breathed out a sigh and straightened back up, collecting herself. "My apologizes." She said evenly, nodding her head. "My outburst does not help the situation. As stated down in the lobby, you are all rooming together, in our largest room, the Rexident suite." She turned as the elevator stopped. She pulled out one of the room keycards and swiped it across the scanner. The door opened right up into the living room of the large suite. There was a full kitchen as well as a dining room and a second living room further in. "It's the best and largest room we have." She said, leading them inside. "It's the entire top floor of the hotel. It has six private bedrooms, each with its own bathroom and private balcony with a hot tub. The doors of which can be looked by a code to keep the smaller ones in." She spoke very quickly and didn't give any of them a chance to comment until she was finished. "But if you all want to barricade yourselves inside, then fine!" She turned around and threw up her arms. "Because we are completely booked and have no other rooms unless you want to sleep in the _actual_ T-Rex room." Her eyes narrowed into a glare and she crossed her arms, daring any of them to start fighting again. Because she didn't have the patience for it anymore and she was real tempted to throw them all into Rexy's paddock.

Again they all looked around at each other, mixed expressions of surprise, confusion, and amusement. But before there was a chance for any of them to voice their various feelings, there were squeals from deep within the suite. Everyone turned as the two tiny kids raced out of a room and once again bee lined for Ian. "Grandpa!" They barreled into him and Ian stumbled back a step.

"You've got to stop doing that!" Ian snapped.

"Yeah, he might break another hip." Alan mumbled snidely to Billy.

"Come at me!" Ian snapped, glaring at him. "I'll take you!"

Kelly came walking out from the hall. She smiled and waved her arms around. "This place is amazing." She said loudly, inadvertently extinguishing the fight.

Claire clenched her fists, feeling herself on the brink of explosion. She spun around and blinked at the young woman. "How..." She held up the keycards. She still had every single one for the room.

Kelly zipped forward and snatched them from Claire's grasp. "I'll take those." She said with a smile.

Billy and Alan walked forward, ignoring the confused Claire as they looked around. "It looks really great." Billy agreed, nodding his head. "Which room is ours?"

"Not next to the kids." Kelly said with a laugh. She pointed at the rooms on the left and waved the keycards in that general direction. "Everyone over 40, over there." She stepped towards them and handed over their keycards. "Under 40, we've claimed those." She said, stepping back and waving to the right.

"Great!" The two men pocketed the cards and headed towards the rooms.

Kelly moved to follow her laden dad and stepmother. She didn't attempt to help her dad with her kids. Instead, she shoved the keycards in her pocket and threw up her arms. "Lucas has barricaded himself in his room. But I got the door to the balcony and the channels on his TV locked before he did so he'll have to play nice eventually."

Ian wrapped his arm around her. "Have I told you today that you're my favorite daughter?"

She rolled her eyes. "Your _only_ daughter." She corrected.

"How about favorite kid?" He asked.

Sarah slapped him in the shoulder.

Claire watched them all, her mouth still open. She felt very inadequate and unprepared, both concepts she hated. Tony Stark was hard enough but this group... she was at a complete loss.

Ellie walked towards her silently. She patted her on the shoulder and leaned closer. "Don't worry." She whispered. "This is how we always are."

Claire turned towards her and her eyes widened. "Really?"

Ellie smiled and nodded. "You're doing great." She squeezed Claire's shoulder and tilted her head. "Better than most."

Claire breathed out and nodded her head. "Okay." She said, attempting to collect herself. "Well... your luggage will arrive shortly. You all get settled in... and..." She tried not to grimace or flinch and she put on a large smile. "Give me a call once you're ready. Simon... yes! Simon and I can give you a tour of control and I know Dr. Murphy mentioned wanting to show you his new lab. He has a big surprise to unveil later." She took a step backwards, towards the elevator. "So..." Another step. "If you'll excuse me... I have a few matters to attend to..." She stumbled backwards into the elevator and her hand flailed over the buttons for a moment. "I will see everyone later."

The doors slid shut before any of the group commented and she backed against the wall. She grabbed the handrails and leaned heavily against the wall as the metal box began to slowly descend. Tony Stark and the old park group on the island at the same time. Dealing with one, she could handle. She had no clue how she was surviving the next few days with all of them. Not with her sanity intact.

 **-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-**

As it turned out, Claire only had a 20 minute reprieve. She'd arrived back at control and found Simon talking with Lowery and Vivian, the latter having only returned to the island a month prior with her new husband to resume her old job. Claire breathed out in relief when she failed to spot Tony Stark. Her eyes quickly searched the whole of control but found no trace of her annoyance.

"I do not have any idea where he is." Simon admitted reluctantly. "He was here with me a moment ago, I swear. I was showing him around and introducing him... but then... he was just gone."

Claire had smiled. A genuine smile that lit up her whole face, one she usually only reserved for her fiancé. "That is the best news I've heard all morning. Now, get me updated on the park."

Lowery and Vivian had just barely finished discussing the cardiac episode of an elderly park guest. "He's in the hospital being treated." Lowery said, leaning back in his chair. "He has a history of heart issues and ignored everything in the wavier he signed. The wife was pretty irate because he apparently promised to stick to the resort while she took the grandkids on the tour and he snuck off on his own."

Claire breathed out and shook her head. She looked at Simon. "Are we liable in any way?"

Simon shook his head. "They cannot sue us for his idiocy."

"I don't know." Lowery tilted his head. "The wife seemed pretty pissed that he was still alive." He said with a straight face.

Simon cracked a smile and Claire wasn't entirely sure if Lowery was joking or not. Before she could respond, the elevator opened and Tim's voice filtered in. Claire forced on another smile and welcomed the group in. Kelly hadn't come, opting to take the twins to the petting zoo and dragging her sulking younger brother along to help her. Quick introductions were made as they were shown around the control room. Ellie and Sarah were rather interested in the map and stepped closer. They hovered over Lowery and Vivian, asking questions. After a few minutes, Billy joined in. Not to be left out of the conversation, Ian insinuated himself and started blathering on about some of his theories.

Alan hung back, taking everything in silently. Claire edged closer to him and smiled. She knew under all his talk and fronting, he was nervous. He was the most nervous of the bunch. She'd followed his career and knew about his trips to the islands changing his opinion on dinosaurs. She couldn't blame him. Honestly, she really hadn't expected to ever meet the famed Dr. Alan Grant. At least not on the island. She'd been surprised when Simon had announced the group was coming. She was even more surprised when they actually got there.

"Safety is our highest priority." She said softly, stepping closer.

Alan let out a sharp laugh. "Safety." He repeated and rolled his eyes.

"Last year was an isolated incident." She said with a nod. "And it will not be repeated. We have more safety measures in place now. More restrictions and guidelines. Nothing is off record anymore. Everything we do is public knowledge. Full transparency."

Alan eyed her for a moment, like he was trying to read her. "Everything in the news was true?" He finally asked. "The whole thing was Henry Wu's doing?"

Claire paused and looked away. She bit her lip and sighed. "It was his doing... because I let him." She answered softly and honestly. "I let him make that creature and keep her isolated... I didn't treat any of them as living creatures. It was my fault, too."

Tim stepped closer. "I saw all his files, I saw exactly what he put into her. The DNA of the animals he experimented with... none of them had any right being used in the creation of that dinosaur."

Alan perked up a bit. "You still have it? His files?"

Tim nodded his head. "Yeah, I do. A lot of it was made public in the trials."

"But not the actual genetic sequences." Alan said.

Tim shook his head. "No."

"I'd like to see that."

Tim blinked for a moment in surprise. "Uh..." He stuttered and looked at Claire. She shrugged and nodded in answer. "Uh... yeah." Tim nodded and turned back to Alan. "I'll check with Simon and legal first. You'll have to sign a confidentiality wavier I assume."

Alan nodded. "Of course. I did the first time I came to the island."

Tim smiled. "Should be fine then."

"I'd be interested as well." Billy said, stepping towards them to join. He held up his hands. "Didn't mean to interrupt."

"You didn't." Claire shook her head and smiled. "I think we're done. If you'll excuse me."

The men nodded and Tim turned to Alan again with a smile. "I've been trying to get my sister Lex here ever since I got here. Well..." He paused and tilted his head. "Really, ever since it reopened." He corrected and smiled again. "But maybe, if you have fun and tell her it's okay..." He trailed off with a sigh and shook his head. "I think she'd listen to you, Alan. She always respected you."

Ian let out a laugh as he caught the tail end of the conversation. "He means she was in love with you." He called across the room.

Claire spun around and pointed a finger at Tim. "Dr. Murphy, I will fire you right now if you instigate a fight in my control room."

 **-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-**

The control room tour wrapped up. Goodbyes were exchanged and Simon said he'd speak with legal and let Tim know as soon as he could. Tim waved and smiled. "See you later at the thing, right?"

Simon nodded. "Wouldn't miss it."

"Thing?" Alan asked.

Tim smiled and nodded his head. "Just wait until you see what I got planned for later today!"

Then the group headed out to the new science building. "The lab was pretty much destroyed by the raptors." Tim explained as they walked around the control building. The new lab was constructed behind control and a new road looped around some of the buildings. "They'd actually torn down part of the wall and broken all the windows. So the old lab space was fixed and some of the offices upstairs were moved down there and control was expanded."

He continued with the explanation as the group walked through the overly large and oddly shaped doors. The doors opened into a large hall that gave off a tunnel vibe. Tim knocked on the thick Plexiglas that lined both sides of the tunnel. Through it, they could see the lab. "There's storage upstairs and some offices and room to expand if needed. But all the work is done on this floor. The wide berth and high ceilings let in large tour groups but also allow for the tram to go right through. Sometimes once an hour." He added with a smile. "A little reminiscent of grandpa's moving room ride thing, if some of you remember it... John Hammond, I mean." He corrected quickly.

Ellie covered her mouth and stifled a laugh. "I remember breaking out of it."

Tim nodded. "Yeah... so... this time, you all can't get in without a keycard." He pulled his out as he walked towards the transparent door. He waved his badge in front of the scanner in the wall. The door slid open and Tim led them inside. He was practically bouncing around the room as he showed off his lab. He'd done a good job of keeping the tour rather professional. Until he got to his lab. He couldn't help it, his excitement took over. _"Mine."_ He kept repeating the word with inflection as he pointed out every single thing. "I helped design the whole building! It was my idea for the..."

There was a shrill squeal and the group stopped. Then all turned and looked in the direction it came from. Across the room, up on an examination table, was a small triceratops. She wasn't much bigger than an average sized dog. The woman hovering over the tiny dinosaur shifted her glasses and narrowed her eyes. Then she crossed her arms and glared down at the squirming baby who was restrained. "You don't stop that, I'm not letting you out."

Forgetting about the tour group for the moment, Tim walked across the lab towards the woman and the baby. "What's going on, Stephanie?"

"She's being a brat, Dr. Murphy." Came the answer.

"How exactly?" He asked, hovering.

"She got her switch installed but the calibration was off and she kept scratching at it. So we knocked her out to reset it electronically. But then she woke up and now she's hungry and she's full of energy and she won't hold still. And I told her to hold still." The woman whined.

Tim laughed and shook his head. "Yeah, the baby dinosaur is really going to listen to you. "

Stephanie laughed and shook her head. "I don't know. Maybe." She shrugged. "Just smile and nod."

"Let her loose." Tim said.

Stephanie smiled and nodded her head. "Sure." She bent down over the control panel beside the examination table. She typed in a few keys and the restraints popped off. The little triceratops wiggled and then bounced right off the table. She bounced around in a circle and started running around the room.

Alan stumbled back into Billy in surprise. Billy smiled and Ian laughed and pointed. Alan glared. Before they erupted into yet another fight, Ellie pushed in between them and let out an excited squeal. "She's so small and cute!" The woman clapped her hands together. She bent down and waved her hands at the tiny frolicking baby. "Hey there little girl. You're so cute!" The baby stopped and darted over to Ellie. She pranced around her and Ellie looked up at Stephanie. "What's her name?"

Stephanie shook her head. "I'm not allowed to tell you."

Ellie tilted her head. "Why not?"

"The naming contest for this little one just ended." She explained. "The winner will be announced at the end of the week."

"Yeah." Tim said sulkily, crossing his arms. "No one will tell me."

Stephanie smiled and shrugged. "On a need to know suck it basis. You don't need to know it so you can suck it."

Tim rolled his eyes and shook his head. "Some people forget I'm the boss here."

Stephanie let out a loud laugh as she turned back to her terminal. "Sure, Dr. Murphy. You keep telling yourself that."

"What is the switch?" Alan asked once the two seemed done conversing. He stepped closer.

"It is a microchip embedded in the base of the brain stem." Tim explained. "When they are about 3 to 6 months old, when we're sure they're strong and viable enough, we insert a microchip in the base of their brain stem. Some call it the kill switch, which is a little morbid." He paused and shrugged. "In the lab, we call it the switch."

Sarah frowned. "You can kill them so easily?"

Tim's eyes widened. "What? Oh no!" He held up his hands and shook his head. "Basically what it does is... it shocks them and stops them. If they were to get out." He added quickly, his hands still up. "There are 3 levels. The first is like a prick to the brainstem and it basically just stops them for a second. Like it stops them and almost resets them and makes them kind of... just look around confused for a moment. The second level, it's a shock hard enough that it drops them to the floor, stuns them for a few minutes. And the third, which we would only use in severe cases, if one was to break out that we thought could hurt somebody. But it would knock them out for a couple hours."

Ellie's eyes were wide and shocked. "You shock them?"

"Is it safe?" Sarah asked.

"Ha!" Ellie let out a sharp laugh and crossed her arms. "How can that be safe for the animals?"

Tim he up his arms again and shook his head. "It's basically like the electric fences."

"But it's inside of them!" Sarah snapped.

"It was necessary." Tim insisted. "It was one of the security measures that we put in place that allowed us to reopen."

"Performing brain surgery on babies and then shocking them." Ellie stated dryly.

Tim sighed and scratched at the back of his head. "It may be a drastic measure, but before, they embedded the tracking chips and thought they were high enough in the neck and deep enough. But Ida... the Indominus Rex, she was able to dig hers out. These new chips... they're tracking chips, too. They are embedded directly into the brainstem and cause no issue with the animals. At least... none so far." He added honestly. "This is all new territory and we're keeping close watch on all of them. We monitor them day and night and we adjust the chips when necessary. And the shocking... well, it just seemed a better solution if one escapes. It's just like one of them breaking through a fence and getting shocked like the pachys do." He paused again and shook his head. "I know it seems more extreme, but it's also a safer method for all the people on the island and for all the animals involved. It's a small shock and if the small shock is enough to stop them, then we can capture them in more humane ways. Or if it's not and we need to take him out for a couple hours..." He trailed off and sighed. "Basically like putting them to sleep. Anyways, it just knocks them out and they wake up. Okay?" Ellie and Sarah still didn't look convinced. Tim sigh and waved them towards the elevator in the back. "Come on, I can show you how it works upstairs."

The group followed him on the elevator, including the tiny bouncing triceratops. Stephanie tried to intercept but Tim waved her off. It was fine. "Let the baby tire herself out." He said as the door closed. Then headed upstairs to Tim's office and he explained a little more about the process and about how exactly they did it.

 **-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-**

 _An hour earlier..._

The second he was left alone, he was gone. The _very_ second. He hardly waited for the car on the tarmac to leave. He wasn't stupid. He knew exactly what he'd seen. Well... he knew what he _thought_ saw, he just didn't know _what_ he saw. He wasn't sure what to make of it. He hadn't meant to happen across the video. It was purely by accident while he was snooping through his friend's things, in laymen's terms. He was snooping and he hadn't meant to see it but he had and he couldn't stop thinking about it. A human transforming into a dinosaur. A velociraptor, he thought. A shape shifter! It wasn't the craziest thing he'd seen. Not even close. But it was one of the coolest!

"Sir, you really shouldn't..."

"Jarvis." Tony interrupted without listening to the voice in his ear. He copied the video and sent it to Jarvis. "See if you can authenticate this."

"Sir..." The AI seemed to sigh. "I really don't think..."

"Just do it!" He snapped. He couldn't stop himself after that. He had impulse control issues. He knew it. That was the first step. Admitting he had a problem. _There_. He was totally covered now. He admitted it.

He donned his suit and flew off to a secluded, restricted part of the island with no video surveillance. He'd hacked into the cameras to make sure of that. He blew off meeting with Claire. He had little interest in her tours. He liked the idea of her groveling to him though, trying to impress him, like his investment in the island depended on how this particular trip went. It didn't. He'd been investing in the island since Simon took it over and he'd keep doing it until Simon sold him the island. Which Tony realistically knew would never happen. It wasn't actually Simon's to sell. He didn't really own it, he just managed the trust that did. But still... Tony could dream. And angle for a dinosaur named after him. Maybe something more deadly than a docile triceratops. Oh! The spitting one! What was it called? Dilophosaurus? Yeah, one that could spit on its enemies. Yeah, spitting instead of shooting. Perfect!

An hour passed as he continued to hack more into Simon's server and then he moved onto Tim's. He didn't care about the dinosaur genetics or secrets. Well, he did a little. But right then, he only cared about how an insane doctor with a God complex took a normal human and turned him into a dinosaur. He wasn't an expert on genetic testing, human or animal. At least not yet. He planned on it as soon as he was done on the island. But the twisted shit in Dr. Wu's files, Tony just couldn't understand how a human survived it. Thor, maybe. But that was alien blood. Banner... but Tony really had no clue how to classify the Hulk. Tony survived an explosion and having a reactor for a heart. But still, he was certain he wouldn't survive Dr. Wu's experiments. He wasn't sure if Cap could. Steve had gone through some horrific experiments and he'd been small and weak at the time. Maybe it was possible. He wasn't an expert yet. But he would be.

He studied each video and image and file he came across related to the mysterious experiment. Most didn't show the man's face at all. Some showed obscured angles hidden in darkness or the frames were cut. But he got enough to build a holographic model to go off on. The next thing he did was hack into the employee database and run a recognition scan against his mockup.

"Against all better judgment, sir, I have located him." Jarvis said after a few minutes.

"Probability?"

"98% match."

Tony piqued an eyebrow. "That's pretty damn close." He nodded his head. "Who is it?"

"Owen Grady." Jarvis said, bringing up the man's employee record on Tony's tablet.

Tony hadn't remembered the name but he remembered the face. "The velociraptor trainer! Of course!" He exclaimed, shaking his head and feeling like an idiot for not thinking about the possibility a few minutes ago. He could have saved those few minutes it took to hack into the employee database and scan it. Tony didn't really know the man. They'd never been introduced. But he'd seen one of his shows the last time he was at the island, a few months back. Tony remembered the way the man seemed to almost talk to the raptors like they understood. Tony guessed now that they actually did understand, that they actually communicated with each other. And it was pretty freaking cool!

He had Jarvis patch up the holes in the island's codes and triple all the security. It wasn't that it had actually been bad. Tony could just hack into anything. But he didn't really have to try too hard. Anyone with basic hacking skills could probably get in. It would take them a whole lot longer, but they would make it in. Okay, maybe not basic. But if an evil genius wanted to wreck havoc, it would be pretty easy. Tony really needed to have a talk with Simon and his tech team. He was itching to upgrade their whole system. He really wanted to do it right then, without even asking. But having actual physical access to them would help tremendously. So he should probably admit to Simon that he hacked in... for whatever reason he hacked into it in the first place.

"To check the results of the naming contest." Jarvis reminded him when he asked.

"Yes, yes." Tony nodded his head. "Ivy." He said, rolling his eyes. "Okay... so I admit to that, but nothing else! Clearly all the human raptor hybrid shifter shit is secret, which is totally justifiable. Secret identities are good."

"Says the man who introduced himself as Iron Man to the media the second he got."

Tony shrugged. "I'm special."

"Very special, sir."

Tony narrowed his eyes. "I don't like the way you said special."

"My apologies, sir." Jarvis answered flatly.

"Sure. Whatever. Get back to work!"

"Right away, sir."

 **-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-**

 **Author's Notes:** Good thing is next chapter is started. Because it's part of the outline for this one, which was only half done and well over 5000 words. So chapter got cut in half. 8D


End file.
